Bachelorette: Mrs Annabeth Chase
by Blue Truth
Summary: A year post TLO, Annabeth and Percy broke up because a long distance relationship was just too hard to manage and never bothered to reconnect. But when Annabeth is chosen for The Bachelorette, who's one of the lucky men chosen? Yep, the 1 and only Percy J
1. Prologue

**Full Summary: A year after TLO, Annabeth and Percy break up because a long distance relationship was just too hard to manage, and never bothered to reconnect. But when Annabeth is recruited for The Bachelorette, guess who's one of the lucky men chosen? You got it, the one and only Seaweed Brain. **

**Title: Bachelorette: M(r)s. Annabeth Chase. **

I pull up the collar of my windbreaker as I drag my bags to the curb. I put two fingers in my mouth and let loose a sharp, clean whistle. Almost immediately, a yellow cab pulls up to the curb. A window rolls down.

"Where ya headin' miss?" A man with square glasses and a mole on his chin asks.

"132 Harlem Avenue, please." I say, climbing into the cab and lugging my bags behind me. "And step on it."

"Sure miss." The man says, and I lean back and anxiously check my watch. I'm going to be late if this cabbie doesn't get there quick. After an uneventful ride, the cab finally pulls up to my destination.

"How much?"

"Um, that'll be thirty two ninety six."

I whip out the money and throw it to him. "Keep the change!" I call as I rush into the building.

"Annabeth! You have a visitor in your office!" The doorwoman, Kathy, calls as you punch the elevator button.

"Thanks, but can you tell them to come back? I'm not going to be able to talk to them, I have to get the plans done by three-"

"He says it's extremely important." Kathy says urgently, flicking her red hair over her shoulder, and for a split second, looks jealous.

The elevator door opens then, and I step into it, telling Kathy I'll try to get in touch with the man once again. When the elevator opens again, I step out and walk into my office.

I'm stunned with what I see. Two men, one with a large camera, are sitting on a plush couch, and when I walk in, they stand up, and a little red light tells me the camera is filming.

"Annabeth Chase!" A man with a too white smile and glowing skin practically shouts. "Welcome," Pause. "to," Dramatic pause, "the Bachelorette."

"What?"

"You've been selected to be the bachelorette. You will be picking men for the next eight weeks. Do you accept this wonderful offer to be immersed into the world of glam, love, and tough love?"

I couldn't do anything but stutter stupidly and let my jaw drop. I had been happily single for nine years. _Nine years._ "W-w-what?"

The man laughed. "Are you ready to find the man of your dreams?"

"Who are you?" I stammered.

"Chris Harrison, the host of the hit TV show on ABC. Do you wish to accept the offer of glitz and glam?"

And I did nothing but grin and smile as I finally (sort-of) understood what was happening. "Will I?"

"Will you?" Chris Harrison asks, and he looks truly sincere.

Ignoring a nagging feeling in the back of my head, I stare right into the camera, and speak. "Of course I will."

Chris Harrison says some stuff into the camera, and I just stick a plastic smile on my face and let the nagging feeling flood over me.

As much as I know about architecture, about fighting monsters, about the second titan war. As much as I know about that, I know that this, in no humanely possible way, can this be good.

**Sooooo... Tell me whatcha think?**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Bachelor or PJO. **


	2. Chapter 2: The Chosen Ones

**Alrighty. I guess you guys liked it. I thank you for that. I got about thirty author alerts, story alerts, favorite stories, etc. etc. And best of all, I got seven reviews! And it's only been one night! Thank you! Okay, I want to make things a bit clearer. That chapter was sort-of a prologue. All the next chapters will be long. I promise. Okay. this chapter will be a little longer, I guess. But this isn't Annabeth's POV. It's told in third person, and it's how Chris Harrison chose the guys. I **_**promise**_** the rest will be in the POV of Annabeth. MWAHAHAHA. What could possibly happen? I do not know. Read on, faithful readers!**

**Disclaimer: Hold on, I'm on the phone with the identity check place... Yuppers. I'm not Rick. **

**Chapter 2**

**The Chosen Ones. **

Chris Harrison gave Annabeth the address of the building where she would receive the names of the men chosen for the show. She nodded and smiled, and he tried to make her as comfortable as possible. This was what usually happened to people chosen for the show. He had nicknamed it C brain, short for Celebrity Brain. The contestant wasn't used to the attention, and the sudden glamor and glitz. But he treated her a bit differently, because for some reason he felt she was going to make a _great _show. He smiled, chatted with the girl for a while, took a picture of her for the website, then left.

"Chris, how are you gonna choose 'da men?" The cameraman asked once they were outside.

"Anthony?"

"Yessir?"

"I'm going to do it a bit differently this time."

"Watcha gonna do?"

Chris just smiled and turned to a handsome man just walking by. He had a tight dark grey t-shirt, and black skinny jeans. His messy black hair and olive skin complimented each other nicely.

"Sir? How would you like to be on the Bachelorette?"

The man looked surprised, which immediately turned to suspicion. "Who are you?"

"I'm Chris Harrison, the host of the Bachelor and the Bachelorette. Would you like to be a contestant on the show?"

"Show me some ID." The man said, crossing his arms. People were starting to stop and stare. Chris laughed, and pulled out his drivers license.

"Is this proof enough?"

"I guess."

"Would you like to see a picture of the woman?"

"I guess." The man said, looking a bit antsy. He looked like he thought he was being punk'd, and he just wanted to leave. Chris turned to Anthony, and beckoned for him to give him the picture. Anthony did, and he held the picture, the back facing the man.

"You can see the woman, but, you have to tell me your name and your age. Then, you can see the picture, and decide whether or not to accept the offer, alright?"

"Alright." He said a bit nervously. "My name is Nico Di Angelo. I'm twenty-two years old."

"Well Nico, here is the woman." Chris said, flipping the picture. Nico's jaw dropped.

"I know she's beautiful, but no need to overreact." Chris whispered.

"What's her name?" Nico asked.

"I'll tell you if your in."

"I'm... I'm... I'm in." Nico said finally.

Chris smiled. "Great. Her name is Annabeth Chase."

Nico looked stunned. A thought came to Chris.

"Have you two met before?"

"We-we- we were practically enemies at summer camp, about ten years ago."

_This is going to make an interesting season. _Very _interesting. _Chris thought. "What are the odds!"

"Yeah... What are the odds."

"Here's the card. Go to that address on Saturday at 3:00. You'll meet the lady there, along with the other twelve men."

"Great."

"We'll see you there!"

"Yeah. See you there." Nico said, a bit of color creeping into his white cheeks. He walked away.

"Thatsa how you gonna pick 'da men?" Anthony said.

"Yes. I thought we oughta shake it up a little."

"Nice way of doin' dat sir."

"Thank you, Anthony." Chris replied vaguely, while hailing a cab. The yellow vehicle pulled up, and the two men climbed in.

"Where to?"

"Bronx."

"Sure." The cabbie said. They drove in silence to the Bronx.

**-o-**

"Chris, are ya sure you're going to do this for all the men?"

"I'm not. I'm going to chose three men off the streets and the rest from the applicants. Alright?"

"Okay sir."

"Good. Now come on. I see a good one." Chris said, pushing through the crowd. He grabbed the wrist of another man with black hair.

"Sir! How would you like to be a contestant on the Bachelorette!"

The man, without turning, said, "I'm a dude."

"You'll be one of the fourteen men who are competing for a woman. Would you like to see a picture of her?"

"No thanks, not interested." But he turned around.

"Just look at her. You seem like her type."

"If I do, will you leave me alone?"

"Only if you once again say no to the offer."

"Fine. Let me see her."

"First, you have to tell me your name and your age."

He sighed. "Percy Jackson. 27 years old."

"This is her," Chris said, giving him the picture. Percy's eyes bulged.

"No way." He murmured. He spoke up. "What's her name?"

"Say you're in."

He seemed torn. His green eyes flickered to the photo then to Chris. "I'm in."

"Wonderful! Her name is Annabeth Chase."

Percy's knees shook. He trembled. But he controlled himself and nodded. "What next?"

"Come to this address," Chris said, handing him a card. He hadn't noticed Percy's mini spaz attack. "where you'll meet Ms. Chase and the other men. Be there at 3:00 sharp."

"Sure."

"Goodbye, Percy. I will see you on the first filming of the Bachelorette."

"Later."

Chris and Percy went their separate ways. Chris and Anthony went hunting for their last picked-off-the-street man.

**-o-**

Meanwhile, Percy went back to his apartment. The second he staggered into his bedroom, he collapsed on his bed. He stared at his ceiling, wondering if Aphrodite had anything to do with this. After about ten minutes of thinking, (mostly about how thankful he was for accepting the offer to be on the show.), Percy picked up his cell phone and called his mother.

"Mom? Guess who I just saw."

**-o-**

Up on Olympus, Aphrodite giggled as she watched Percy give in to Chris Harrison. Then, she continued painting her perfect nails a bright neon pink only she could pull off. She promised herself she wouldn't interfere after this, unless Annabeth decided to vote Percy out. Aphrodite had a pretty good idea who the final two contestants would be, unless of course, something, or someone, got in her way.

She was determined to make that _not _the case.

**Ooooh. Cliffy! I truly do love my mind. What's going to happen? I dunno. I want seven to ten reviews before the next chapter. Okay? I loved this chapter. But. Will Percy and Nico be the two finalists? **

**I can give you a hint. **

**It's not guaranteed Percy's going to be the winner. I hope this was long enough for you!**


	3. Chapter 3: Five Minutes and a Rose

**Oh. My. God. **

**! It's been up a few hours and I got TWENTY reviews!**

**ILY GUYS!**

**(Not in **_**that **_**way, sickos!)**

**Anyway. I promised you a chapter, so here it is! I hope it's good! I'm trying to get better with my writing, I hope this pleases you. Oh, and for those of you who don't know, A buzzer is like a doorbell in New York. I know because I live close to there, and I used to live there.**

I glanced down at the business card, and up at the brick building. I checked my watch, 2:59. I took a deep breath, and rang the buzzer. A voice spoke through the speaker, and I jumped.

"Who is it?"

"Erm... Annabeth Chase...?"

"Oh yes yes. We've been expecting you. You're so early!"

"It's 2:59!"

"I know, you're so early. Now come in, come in, you early bird."

"Um... okay."

I heard a click, and I opened the door. I stepped into a beautiful room with white velvet curtains and marble floors. There were beige velvet couches and chairs. Lace doilies were on the arms of the chairs, and there were huge, sparkly chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. Marble columns throughout the room. A tall women wearing a low V-neck dress and a large and flashy diamond necklace was doing paperwork at a marble desk.

In other words, fancy.

"Annabeth, honey!" Chris called, and his voice echoed throughout the room as his shoes clicked against the ground.. The women didn't even glance up. "Come come. Would you like to meet the men? I have a feeling you're going to be _very _surprised."

"In a good way?"

"Definitely."

"Okay..."

Chris then seemed to actually _see _me for the first time. "Oh no no no! This won't do. It was supposed to be a _formal _event! Didn't you read the card?"

I looked down at my sweater and jeans. "Sorry. Just the address."

He clucked his tongue. "Shame. Well, no problem. Just come with me and our stylists will get you changed in no time."

"Alright..." I said, and Chris took my hand. He led me to an elevator, and clicked the up button. We entered a room with red carpeting and wood paneling for walls. Beethoven played softly from a well hidden speaker, and Chris clicked the floor number seventeen. We waited in silence until the doors opened, and we stepped out into more red carpet. I heard a low murmuring in one direction, and loud squeals and chatter from the other. Chris pulled me toward the loud squealing. He opened a door, and into a room thick with blush and glitter. I coughed.

"Gigi! Mimi! Scarlett! Get to work on her now. She needs to be formal. She's meeting the guys." Then, he turned to me. "When you're done, the girls will take you to the door. Knock, and I'll answer, alright?"

"Sure."

"Great. Girls!"

"Ooh!" One of the most heavily made-up women I've ever seen (Including several children of Aphrodite) came through the thick cloud of blush. "This is gonna be sa-weet! Gigi! Scar! Commere!"

Two other women appeared and gasped.

"Omg!" One with puffy red hair coated with powder screeched. The other, just stood openmouthed.

"Can I trust you to have her at the room in exactly fifteen minutes?"

"Yep. Now leave. We have work to do." Mimi said. Her orange hair looked hard and fake. She looked me over, and then sat me down in a chair. Gigi gave me a dress to put on. It was bright red with a low neck and a ruffly bottom. Scarlett put too-high high heels on my feet and painted my nails the same color of my dress. Then, they slathered on the mascara, lip stain, pale reddish brown blush, pale silver eyeshadow, and a tiny bit of cover up. In what felt like no time, they were dragging me down the hall in the direction of the murmurings. Each one gave me a kiss on my cheek, checked it didn't leave a mark, and ran down the hall, giggling like a bunch of schoolgirls. I took a deep breath, and knocked gently on the door. Chris opened it, and stepped out making sure I couldn't see anything inside. The murmurings ceased. Chris stepped out into the hallway.

"You look great. The men are anxious to meet you."

"They are?"

"Of course. Now, come in with me."

"Oh. Okay." I said. I followed Chris into the room, not looking at the guys. I was afraid to, actually.

"Look up." Chris prompted. I did. I took a long glance at each of the guys. I counted twenty five, but I didn't look at their faces. When I did, I looked at each one, in order, but my vision was blurred by a bit of mascara stuck in my eye, so I didn't get details. I _did _notice three had glasses, two had a mole, three were bald and had huge bug eyes, one looked like he could be a murder, and about six I just instantly knew weren't my type. About ten had potential.

"Annabeth? If you would step behind this curtain, I'll send each man to talk with you for five minutes. You're conversation will be recorded. Is that okay?" Chris said softly. I nodded.

"That's great Chris. Wonderful."

"Good. Lets start with Marvin." He said, gesturing to one of the men with glasses. We walked behind a curtain, where the man with the camera was sitting in a corner, his eye to the eyepiece.

"Hi. You're Marvin, right?" I said, once we were seated.

"Yeah. You Annabeth?"

"Yes. So... What's your job?"

"I'm an accountant. What are you?"

"I'm an architect. An accountant. Cool job."

"Not really. What's your favorite food?"

"I _adore _camp BBQ."

"Me too! That's ironic."

"What camp did you use to go to?" I asked.

"Use to? No. I still go! It's called Schwartz's Camp for the Specially Educated."

"Oh." Awkward silence. No chance this guy is getting a rose tonight. "Well... um..." Thankfully, the camera man motioned for me to wrap it up, and so I did. "It was nice meeting you! I think we have a lot in common."

"Yeah. I think we do."

Another awkward pause. Smile. Chris came in. "Did you two enjoy your five minutes?"

_No. _"Of course! I think Marvin really has a chance." I lied, smiling at Marvin. Chris smiled at me, and led Marvin out. The camera man checked a clipboard.

"The next man is named Justin. He's twenty eight."

I nodded. "Thanks."

Chris came in then, a tall man with dark brown hair and matching eyes, following. "Annabeth. This is Justin."

"Hi, Justin." _Hello cutie. _"Nice to meet you."

Justin smiled. "You too."

"I'll leave you too alone." Chris said, smiling, and disappeared to the other side of the curtain.

"Isn't it crazy being on this show?" I said. "I mean, I've been in this building a half hour and already I'm prettier then ever."

"I know. It's crazy. I mean, I watched this show and used to laugh at how stupid it was. I thought, 'It's all fake. It's all planned. The couple in the ned is already married.' Now that I'm actually on, I know better. I actually think this could work."

I laughed. "It's nice to meet someone who's actually human. All the people here are so... are so... _Vegas. _Or _Hollywood._"

"I know." Justin said, laughing too.

"I thought this was filmed in Hollywood, anyway."

"I think is, but the first episode or something is filmed in the main contestant's current home state. Either way, the place they chose is so Hollywood anyway."

"I don't know if New York can get Hollywood. Everything it has has it's own touch."

"True. It's like Hollywood, but with snow in the winter."

"Yeah!" I said, laughing even harder. We actually _talked _for the next few minutes, and I was disappointed when the cameraman motioned time was running out.

"It was great meeting you!" I said truthfully.

"You too." Justin said. Chris came in, right on time.

"Time's up." He said. "How did you two get along?"

"Great." We said in harmony, then laugh. Chris laughs.

"I thought you would." He said. I thought I could detect an almost _crazed _look in his eyes, and the nagging feeling returns.

**-o-**

Twenty-three men later, I finally knew who didn't stand a chance, and who might. Chris came in, and gave me a few (recorded) words before giving me the last two men.

"Alright, Annabeth, there are two men left. I think you'll like them. Especially one of them. These two men have been randomly selected off the street, but don't object, they are _fine._ They're not serial killers, or axe murderers, alright? I promise."

I laughed nervously. "Um. Okay?"

"Well, I'd like you to meet the first. I'll be right back."

"What's his name?" I whispered to the cameraman, who's name I've learned is Joseph. He just smiles.

"You'll figure it out."

I don't like where this is going, but before I can object, the curtain is pulled aside, and Chris walks in with a _gorgeous _man lagging a bit behind him. The man's tuxedo was a bit tight, and unlike the other men, has no flower or handkerchief sticking out. The tuxedo is the darkest of black, and I notice his pale skin is the exact opposite of the color of his tux, and when I finally look up at his face, I gasp.

_"Nico?" _

"Annabeth?" Nico Di Angelo from Camp Half blood here. I've barely thought of that place for years! Let alone the people in it. I've blocked off that section of my life from my mind, until now. Why am I always the one surprised by the things the men do in my life?

"What are you _doing _here?" I turned to Chris, who's crazed look finally makes sense. "What is he doing here?"

"Like I said, you were in for a surprise. Now, enjoy your five minutes together." He said, and slipped behind the curtain. The red light is burning into my vision, making me all too aware that we couldn't say anything we really wanted to talk about. So, I looked him over with the look Kathy called, 'My Analyzing'. I saw his pale skin had darkened a bit over the years, but if anything his hair and eyes had darkened. His eyes were death black, pools of sorrow and failure. I found myself being sucked into those eyes, I saw that I was leaning forward slightly, as if I were hypnotized.

"I was pretty much picked off the street. Look, I don't want to be here-"

"No... no... It's... alright." I said slowly, meaning every word. "What have you been doing over the years?"

A pale pink color came to his cheeks, so barely noticeable it probably wasn't even there. "Well, I've been at camp. I teach the new recruits the basics and a bit of sword- erm... fencing."

"Cool. I'm an architect."

"I knew you were going to say that. How's life been for you?"

"Over the years? Cruel. Awesome. Happy. Sad. A bunch of things."

"Like what?"

"Well, my dad was diagnosed with lung cancer, which is ironic because it's his second wife who smoked, not him, and she's perfectly healthy, but it went into remission a few years ago, and everything has been alright since. What about you"

"Well, nothing but teaching the kids. You like your job?"

"Yeah, it's awesome. I was part of the crew who designed the new plans for the Ground Zero remembrance walls."

"You were? Ahh, that's great. That's great."

We got so absorbed in talking to each other, I didn't notice Joseph making the sign to wrap it up. So when Chris came in, I was surprised, and I didn't want Nico to leave. Whatever awkwardness he had in the years I had known him had disappeared, and he was a great partner in a conversation.

"How were your five minutes?"

"Great." I saw vaguely. "Wonderful."

Chris smiled knowingly and led Nico out. I was too busy looking at the floor thinking to notice when Chris brought in the last guy.

"Annabeth? I'd like you to meet-" I looked up, and my jaw dropped.

"Percy?" I asked, finishing the sentence for Chris. Percy's eyes bulged.

"Annabeth?" He gasped. "It is you!"

"Of course it is. What are _you _doing here?"

"You're not happy?" He asked confused. I hadn't noticed it, but Chris had left. The tiny red light was all I could see.

"I... I..." Honestly, I couldn't decide wether I wanted to slug him or hug him, so that's what I told him. He looked a little offended, but not that much. We sat down, but I found I didn't really... _click _with Percy the way I did with Nico, or even Justin.

"What have you been doing over the years?" I stammered when I regained the ability to speak.

"I'm a marine biologist. It's awesome. I get to go scuba diving and study all the fish and dolphins. It's really sweet. I'm guessing your an architect?"

"You'd be right." I said, smiling.

We sat in silence for a while, but it wasn't an awkward silence, like with Marvin. I knew we were both thinking the same thing, _What are the odds of finding him/her? _

I didn't know. When Chris came to lead Percy out, I was sad to see him go, but I wasn't as sad as I was with Nico. When Chris came back, he asked me what I thought.

"I don't know. A lot of them have a pretty good chance of being _the one. _But, I mean, I think Nico and me really clicked, and so did Percy and I. Maybe Justin too."

Chris nodded and smiled at me, not saying anything, even when I was finished. Joseph said, "That's it."

Chris stopped smiling, and got up. "Okay. We need to get you ready for the rose ceremony. You know which guy you're not giving a rose too, right?"

I thought of Marvin. "Yes."

"Good. I'm going to hand you over to Gigi and the girls, and I'll see you at eight."

"See you at eight, I guess." I said as he pushed me down the hall and back into the cloudy makeup room. He sat me down in the chair and without a word, just a snap, the girls swarmed around me, taking off all my makeup, and redoing it softer. Then, they gave me a charcoal colored dress with a silver design on it, and made my makeup sophisticated. They added more silver eyeshadow, but in a darker shade, eyeliner, to make my eyes look large and innocent, and a bit of brown blush. They gave me a cup of water, (so much talking wears you out.), and they took off my nail polish, and added a new color, once again the same color of my dress. Another pair of high heels, and some more cover up. When they were done, I checked the time. It was seven forty five, and Gigi demanded Scarlett come with me to show me to the Rose Room. She took me in an elevator to the top floor, and we marched up the hallway in silence, until Scarlett stopped in front of two huge mahogany doors.

"Good luck, hon. It's always harder then you think." She said, then was gone in nothing but a small cloud of powder.

I knocked, and for the second time that day Chris came out. Without a word he led me in and stopped when we came to a small table with twenty four roses on top. Chris smiled encouragingly and stood a few feet next to me. I took a deep breath, and started to speak.

"As you know, not all of you are going to get a rose tonight." I started. This received nervous titters throughout the men. "But. For whoever doesn't receive one of the roses, it doesn't mean your not as good as everybody else. Alright? It was a tough decision. Very tough." _Not really. _"So. Without further ado, lets begin." I took one rose in my hand.

"Nathan," I said. He walked up to me. "will you accept this rose?"

"Of course." He said, and I placed it in his corsage pouch. He smiled, and regained his place.

**-o- **

Twenty two men later, there were two roses left. Percy, Nico, and Marvin were left.

"Nico," I said. He smiled slightly in relief. "will you accept this rose?"

"I'd be honored." He said. I placed the rose in his jacket. He smiled, and then joined the other safe men. I smiled at all of them, then turned back to Percy and Marvin. I took the last rose, and took a deep breath.

"Percy," I said. He looked immensely relieved. "Will you accept this rose?"

He just grinned and nodded. I placed the rose in his jacket. "Thank you." He whispered.

"Anytime." I said as he walked toward the safe men. I looked at the last man standing. "I'm sorry Marvin."

He nodded, but I watched the sadness envelop his eyes. Even though I was definitely _not _marrying him, I still felt pangs of sadness for him. "It's okay." He said. Chris frowned pityingly, and led Marvin out. I turned toward the safe men, and nodded. "Thank you. That will be all." I said, and exited. I was in the elevator, and outside on my way to my (five star) hotel, when I saw a familiar back.

I made up my mind. I ran, despite the high heels, and tackled the man from behind, and hugged his neck.

"Whoa! What?" He said, surprised. He turned his head, and saw me. "Oh. Annabeth."

"Thank you, Percy. Thank you." I said into the crook of his neck. "For everything."

"Um... okay. You're welcome, I guess."

I pulled away. I smiled at him, a real, true, warm smile. "Seaweed Brain."

His eyebrows raised. "You still remember that?"

I nodded. "Of course."

"Wise Girl." He said softly. I smiled to myself.

"Yeah?"

"Thank you too. For everything."

"You're welcome." I said, walking away. "Night, Seaweed Brain."

"Goodnight, Wise Girl." He called back, as he got into a cab. "See you next week."

"See you." I called, as the cab he was in drove away. I walked to my hotel, checked in, collapsed in the bed, and promptly fell asleep.

Yeah, in my dress, high heels, and makeup.

'Cause that's just how I roll.

**lol. I just **_**had **_**to include those last two lines. I know it wasn't needed, but I wanted it. I loved that last scene, where she tackles Percy from behind, and hugs him. I don't know whether of not to be proud that it's so long, or feeling bad because I made you guys read so much. I think each chapter will be an 'activity' they do, and then the rose ceremony. **

**Oh, I know people are reading, because I have like, six hundred hits, and twenty one reviews, but I'm gonna be nice again. Seven reviews and I'll update the fic, alright? **

**The best review you can leave, in my opinion, is calling someone's work original. It's rare to find something original on here, and when you do, half the time it isn't good. **

**If you can, pleasepleaseplease tell me the rating of this chapter, your favorite part, and your favorite line. If you have an 'activity' they can do next, feel free to leave that in a review too. I accept anonymous reviews too! **

**Just saying. **

**-Blue. **


	4. Chapter 4: A Barbeque and a Monster

**Thanks for the reviews! From now on, the episode is the chapter name. When you see a line, that's when you know the show is filming. Oh, and be warned, this is where the T rating comes in, and it's NOT for fluff. Not yet. Do not read if you can't handle people eating certain things. It's not too bad, but I'd certainly puke if I had to eat that... I don't know how Annabeth did it. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own NOTHING. 'Nuff said. **

**Episode Two: Seventeen going on seven. **

Sunlight spilled into my room on the second day of filming, making everything light up gorgeously. The warm yellow light stuck to the pale cream colored walls, turning them a rich golden color. I sighed, and burrowed deeper into the puffy white comforter. I was on the brink of falling asleep again, when a shrill ringing woke me up. I sat up instantly, rubbed my eyes, and picked up the phone on my mahogany bedside table, accidently knocking over a glass of water.

"Oh, shit! What? Oh, not you ma'am!" I said, panicking. "Can you hold on just a moment?" I put the phone down, and moved the set onto my bed, then I ran into the bathroom and grabbed a few towels. I dashed back into the bedroom and mopped up the water, and dropped the wet towels on the carpet. Then, I picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"Yes..." The women said. "It's your wake up call, for nine AM?"

"I have a wake up call?"

"Yes. Chris came and told you to be at the studio at ten thirty sharp. He says it's going to be a great barbeque."

"Alright. Bye." _Barbeque?_

"Goodbye." She said, and I was met with a dial tone. I hung up as well and yawned. I glanced at the clock, and sure enough it was 9:00. I tromped to the bathroom, and was in the middle of putting Colgate Toothpaste on my toothbrush when I looked in the mirror. I dropped the toothbrush into the sink. I was a mess. My mascara was all over my eyes, fusing with the eyeshadow to make my eyes a big, black, mess. The lipstick looked like it was put on by a two year old, and the blush was probably all over my pillow. My coverup was partly in my hair, and the only thing that looked the same was my nail polish. I blinked. I took a washcloth and soaked it with soap and water. I scrubbed my face, but accidently opened my eyes and soap poured in. I shrieked, and jumped in the open shower with my dress on. Then, I turned on thewater and shrieked again when hot water scorched my body. I jumped out, stepping on a razor, then slipped and skidded across the tile floor in a black gown probably worth more then my TV at my apartment, before falling and smacking my head against the sink, falling backwards into the bathtub, and hitting the floor with a thud, smacking my head once again on the floor.

"Owowowowowow." I said under my breath, rubbing my head where a bruise was certainly forming. I sighed. "No doubt about it, this is by far the worst morning ever."

I carefully stood up, even using the safety bar for the elderly, and stepped out of the bathtub. I turned both the knobs down and waited for the tub to fill up. I undressed, and when the tub was filled, I checked the temperature with my hand before sliding my body in.

"Ahhh." I sighed happily as the water enveloped me. I scrubbed off the makeup, and shampooed my hair. When that was washed out, I put a dollop of conditioner in and scrubbed that in too. I let it sit before washing it out. I added a bit more hot water and sat for a bit longer before draining the water and getting out. I dried off with a plushy white towel and put on a thick white robe. I sat in front of my closet and pulled out a bunch of outfits. I tried each one on, and each didn't seem to be right. _Gods_, I thought. _It feels like I'm going on my first date with... with Percy. _I was jolted out of my thoughts when a buzzer rang. I got up, hugging my posh robe, and went to the door. I opened it to see a short women with a black bob haircut and a very large nose carrying a large bag.

"Yes?" I asked, opening the door.

"Neighbors were complaining of shrieking, random thumps, and cursing. Is everything alright?"

"What? Oh, I just fell. What are you holding?" I said, pointing to a dry cleaners bag.

"This is for you. It was dropped off. Something for you to wear to a barbeque?"

"Oh, yeah. I was wondering what I was supposed to wear. Do I need to sign something?"

"Just tell me your name."

"Annabeth Chase?"

"Okay. Here you go." She said, handing me the bag.

"Thank you."

"Have a nice day!"

"You too!" I said, and shut the door. I locked it, just to be safe, and zipped open the bag. I gasped with what I saw. A V-neck white dress with a floral design playing at the bottom met my eyes. It was honestly the most gorgeous thing I've ever seen. A box fell out of and I opened it and matching shoes (flats this time.) fell out along with a note. It said; _From Gigi and the girls._ I glanced at the clock and cursed again when I saw it was ten 'o clock. I threw on the dress, put on a bit of silver eyeshadow and red blush, and ran out of the hotel. I caught a cab and in fifteen minutes I was ringing the buzzer and a voice was answering.

"I'm Annabeth."

"Okay. You're so early! What are you doing here so early? It's practically the crack of dawn!"

"It's ten fifteen!"

"Exactly."

I sighed. "I figured I'd come up early to see if Gigi and the girls approved of my makeup."

"Good idea. Knowing them, they won't."

"Yeah. Can I come in?"

"Of course, of course." The voice said. "The doors are opened, come in." I did, and the women at the desk smiled at me. "Sit down, Annabeth."

"What's your name?" I asked after I did.

"Jayabella."

"Pretty name."

"Thanks. You too."

"Do you have any idea what I'm going to have to do?"

"Yes. You're going to have to vote off seven more men, after picking with ones at a barbeque."

"It's going to be a _looonnng _day isn't it?"

"Probably. On the bright side, our chef, Acquistimo, makes _phenomenal _shish kabobs."

"Jeez, even a barbeque on this show is fancy!"

"It's what we do best." She replied, laughing. She stole a glance at her watch, and cursed. "Shh!" She immediately looked down an pretended to be absorbed in her work, and Chris Harrison came rushing down the stairs.

"Gigi told me that dress would look flattering on you, she was right! Now come, to the limo. The boys are waiting." Chris grabbed my hand, and took me to a stretch Hummer limo. I ducked inside, and sat right between Nico and Percy.

"So guys, does anyone know where we are going?" I asked, wondering if they knew.

"No." A few murmured.

"Guys, seven of you are going home tonight." I said flatly, trying to lively up the conversation. "So flatter me."

"_Seven?_" Nico asked.

"Yeah. Seven. You know," I said lightly, "the number that comes right after six?"

He scowled at me. "I know what seven is. I went to kindergarten."

I cocked my head. "Really? I thought you were stuck in the Lotus Casino for seventy five years?" I said. Thunder rumbled slightly overhead.

"I was ten." He explained. "I went to kindergarten. Just not, fourth and fifth grade... for seventy five years."

"Talk about ditching classes." Percy mumbled, so only we could hear. I laughed, and even Nico cracked a smile. I felt a pang in my heart as I realized I could only chose one of these men in the end. Thankfully, the limo stopped. The door opened, and I squinted my eyes when the sun poured into the room. I turned away when somebody tapped on my shoulder. Justin was there.

"Do you want my sunglasses?" He asked earnestly, and, went I thought about it, a little seductively.

"Sure." I said, and he put them on, and brushed some hair out of my eyes. I stared at him through the shades, and he stared at me back.

The next thing I knew, we pulling apart, breathless, from an intense kiss. I was blushing furiously, but I regained my composure and follow Chris toward a beautiful stone pit with a stainless steel grill. I promptly took a seat on a stone chair, and looked at the men expectantly.

This time, Nico didn't sit next to me. Justin did.

"That's so funny, Justin!" I laugh, nearly spitting out my margarita. I glance over a Nico, scowling in a chair on the other side of the pit, but his facial expression is just an act, I know. I want to read his eyes, the way I used to do with Percy, but his are just so dark and filled with sorrow and sucking me in and... and... and sorrow...

"Annabeth?" Justin's voice pulls me back into reality. I realize I'm basically leaning over my knees to stare at Nico's eyes. A bunch of the men look stunned, but I just pretend to drop my ring.

"Yeah?" I say, picking it up and making sure they all see that I'm putting it back on my finger.

"Never mind." he says lightly. "Anyway. What's up with that airline food? Yeah. Stupidest, yet cleverest joke ever."

That receives a bunch of cheers in approval. Nico's just staring into his margarita, stirring it around with a straw. For a split second, I think I see a flash of silver light that resembles a young girl, but before I can be sure, it's gone.

"Dinner!" The man bellows from the grill, and the men go out of there way to make sure I get first pick. I do, but when I look into the man's eyes I see they're almost neon red. I look down and thank him instead, and see that his fingernails are flickering between human fingernails and five inch long claws. He smiles at me, and I realize his two front teeth are black and sharper then piranha's. My eyes go wide, but I just turn around and sit next to Percy instead of drawing my knife and killing the sucker before it gets a chance to hurt anyone.

"Percy," I say through clenched teeth. "I hope you remember how to sword fight."

"What?" He asks, and he turns to look at me. I see his eyes aren't green. They're brown, and his hair isn't black. It's brown as well. Justin. "Annabeth, are you okay? You've been acting strangely lately."

I try to laugh it off. "You've only known we for a week."

"Still. Do you feel alright?"

"I feel _fine_." I say firmly. "Now, do you know where Percy is? I need to tell him something."

"You can tell _me _anything." He says, looking up at me with big brown eyes. And the scary thing is, I almost do. I come _so close _to telling him about the gods and Camp Half-Blood. All about the cooking monster, and all about my childhood. Thankfully though, it scares me so much that I snap out of it.

"I-I-I," I say softly. "I can't, Justin. I'm not who you think I am." Stupidly, and too late, I realize that a camera is zooming in on us from a bit away.

"Then who are you?"

Trying to turn the situation lighter, I say, "That's classified information."

"Annabeth. You're hiding something from all of us. Someone's bound to find out eventually."

"I know. But not today."

"How-" He is interrupted by thunder booming overhead, and for once I sigh in relief. Justin looks at me funny, but doesn't say a word as he gets up and serves himself another hamburger. I get up too, and sit next to the _real _Percy.

"Percy?" I ask.

"Yeah?" He says before taking a huge bit of cheeseburger.

"Do you still carry Riptide?"

"What?"

"Your sword, Percy! Your sword!"

"Yeah, but why?"

"'Cause that stupid cook is a goddamn monster!" I whisper furiously. Percy looks confused, then surprised.

"I haven't seen a monster since the war!"

"What war?" One of the boys, Nathan, asks, coming over to sit by us.

"Oh... the Iraqi war." I stall.

"And what's this about monsters?"

"Oh... Halloween. I haven't seen a lot of children dressed up as monsters lately."

"Ah. Your right, I haven't either. Just stupid video games and candy."

"You've seen kids dressed up as candy and video games?"

"Sure. Where have you been the last ten years?"

"Busy." I retort. I stand up. "I'm going to the bathroom. I'll be back." I walk past the monster, cursing myself for being _stupid _enough not to bring my knife. Some daughter of Athena I am.

The next thing I know, I'm on the ground, claws digging into my shoulders, causing excruciating pain. His red eyes seem to be drawing every secret, every memory and fighting skill I've ever learned out of me, and I realize it's probably one of Mnemosyne's monsters, sent to extract my memory. Instinct is screaming at me to shut my eyes, but the red has me captivated. He's leaning toward me, his jaws cracked open enough to resemble either a bite or a kiss. His jaws barely pierce the skin on my neck, but they do, before the monster is knocked off of me. I groan, and roll onto my stomach where I get up and grab a giant steel butcher's knife that was used just minutes earlier to chop up meat and vegetables. I brush some hair out of my face and see that Percy is battling the monster with as much fierceness he can manage, but he doesn't know that it's eyes are it's main weapon.

"Percy!" I shout. "Remember Aunty Em's!"

I see a spark of understanding light in his eyes and he closes his eyes and battles using only his other senses. I run up to the thing and jump on its back, trying to remember where I can stab it so it won't disintegrate into the soft golden dust. Finally, I stab it in the neck, right on it's bone, and it collapses on top of Percy. Then I see the knife I was using is sticking out of its stomach, right between my legs, and the weapon sticking out of it's neck is a black iron sword with a golden design on the hilt. I frown, but I hop off the monster and take out the butcher's knife before turning around to face the men. Justin looks stunned, Nathan looks as if he might puke, three or four of them look like they definitely want to kiss me right then, and the rest simply look like they had too much to drink. The red light catches my attention, and I realize that although the cameraman had fainted, the camera was standing upright and the red light was still on, signaling that the battle had been caught on tape. I turn around and help Percy up, then use the knife to scoop out the eyeballs and with a wince I pop them into my mouth. When I begin to chew, all my memories flood back into my mind and when I'm certain I have all that was gone, I'm about to spit the eyeballs out when memories I never even remember thinking start to pop up. Half of them are about me, but the other half are feelings. Feelings so strong it's all I can do not to collapse on the ground. Feelings of betrayal, love, pride. Friendship, happiness, sorrow. Then they stop suddenly.

I've just had a look into Percy's head.

I see a flash of black out of the corner of my eye, and turn just in time to see Nico putting the black sword into a sheath hidden underneath his shirt. He catches my gaze and looks up at me. I find myself getting sucked into his eyes once again, before I turn away.

The barbeque is over.

**-o-**

I step into the room, confident that my cover story of a pop quiz from my fencing teacher had covered the monster attack earlier that day, wearing a sleek black evening dress that reaches my knees, and no makeup except a bit of coverup on my scratches. I stand beside the table with the roses, not needing Chris Harrison to lead me there anymore. I take a deep breath, knowing that I hadn't spent enough time with each and every man to know truthfully which ones aren't for me. I pick up the first rose and finger it thoughtfully. "Today was exciting, wasn't it?" I say lightly. Murmurs of approval sound from the crowd. "I apologize once again for my old fencing teacher's pop quiz. I passed, on the bright side!"

"Did he mean to hurt you?" Justin asks quizzically. "That animal was really harsh on you."

"My fencing teacher never takes it easy on us. I was one of the best in the class, so he knew I wouldn't get myself killed. He knows exactly what thing to throw on us to test our skills. I made sure he won't do it again until I'm finished with the show. Anyway, on a brighter note. As you know, this is the last episode that will be filmed in New York. Tomorrow night, all of us will be on a plane to Hollywood. And..." I say, stretching out the word. "We'll all be moving into the Bachelorette Mansion."

Cheers.

"On a darker note, ten of you will _not _be there. Only seven men and I will. The seven men who receive the roses will get access to the mansion for the next seven weeks. Is that understood?"

Several, yes's, told me my answer. "Good. Now, let us begin." I turned toward Chris, who nodded his approval at my words.

"Percy. Will you accept this rose?" I say, tears threatening to spill flood my eyes. He smiles and comes up to me.

"Of course I will, Annabeth." He says, and takes the rose from me. I smile sadly up at him. After everything we've been through in the fifteen years we've known each other, I still don't know if he's _the one. _I watch him go as he walks toward the safe zone, and I call up the next man.

"Nico. Will you accept this rose?" I ask him, and he nods as he silently walks up and I hand him the rose. He doesn't say a word as he joins Percy. Next man.

"Justin. Will you accept this rose?"

"Of course I will, Annie." Justin says as he takes the rose from me. _Annie? Where did that come from? _I don't say anything, just smile as I watch him join Percy and Nico. I take a deep breath, and turn back toward the crowd as I call of the names who seemed the nicest to me in the five minutes. Brandon, Ethan, Austin, and Cody. Each of them accept the rose, and I absorb the dejected look on the men who didn't get chosen. I wonder if _the one _is in the crowd that hadn't been accepted, and I wonder if I made the right choice. The red light goes off.

Chris meets me outside the Rose Room and gives me my plane ticket and tells me that I have to get to La Guardia immediately, bags will be there waiting for me. My plane leaves at 10:00. Right now, it's eight thirty. He hails a cab for me, shoves me in, and tells me once again not to worry about luggage. When he shuts the door, the cabbie takes off for the airport, leaving Chris standing on the curb. I finger the paper plane ticket, and request the cabbie takes me to my apartment. Reluctantly, he agrees, and within minutes I'm running up the stairs and using the key on a chain around my neck to get inside. I grab my purse, and hesitate, feeling like I'm forgetting something. Then it hits me like a monster what it is. I run into my bedroom, and grab the old and patched up stuffed bear that Percy had given me for my eighteenth birthday. I smile, then run back outside and into the idling cab.

"Okay. Lets go." I say, vaguely wondering if Zeus will let me pass through his domain.

**Okay. The ending seems REAAAALLLLYYY rushed, I know. I know. I'm sorry. I'm extremely sorry, and I'm aware this chapter pretty much sucks. Poor Annabeth in the beginning though. I promise, pinky swear, Cross my heart and hope to die, stick a needle in my eye, that future chapters will be better. Now. Onto my contemplating. **

**Why did that monster attack? A: Probably because you cant have a son of Poseidon and a son of Hades and a daughter of Athena in one place other then camp half-blood without an attack. **

**Why did Annabeth get hurt so much? A: Because, well, it just wasn't her best morning. **

**Why did Annabeth eat the eyeballs? A: Because she needed her memories back and that's where the monster was absorbing them from. **

**What do you think about her getting some of Percy's thoughts? A: That's for YOU to tell ME.**

**Will you forgive me for this sucky chapter? A: Please?**

**Okay. This'll be the the last chapter for a while because I'm going to the beach for a week. Okay. well. Thanks for the reviews and the hitsss! You're the best! Can you tell me if you see the lines? Because if you can't, it starts with the sentence, Justin did. And ends with The red light goes off. **

**Alright. Tell me if you see the lines, tell me what you think, and, as always, review!**


	5. Chapter 5: Poolside Fight

**Alrighty. I have fifty three reviews and about four chapters. This fic is coming along really well. I have an idea in my head that NOBODY knows about, I know who Annabeth will chose in the end of the Bachelorette, but... well... read to find out, I guess. Oh, and I have a question, would you mind if I switched POV's sometimes? 'Cause I mean... well... I had to think a **_**lot **_**about this chapter, like how to make it in Annabeth's POV. It was originally going to be in Percy's... but... yeah. This chapter was really thought out and it had to be written just right to please you guys. I had to think, and take this literally, almost **_**forever**_**, to have a reason why Percy and Nico could get to the mansion. I hope you guys liked this chapter, because I know I do. One more thing. People in Korea. People in **_**France**_**. People in **_**Bulgaria**_ **are reading my fic. Thank you so much for that. It really means a lot to me, and I'm not just saying that, because I won't say something that means a load of crap. Keep in mind the endish of the chapter is where the rating comes in. Again, it's not for fluff. Yet. **

**-Blue. **

I checked my watch for the hundredth time and took a sip of my water. Then, I checked my watch again. 11:17. Still.

"Dearie, are you alright? You look like you're going to have to skydive without a parachute or something." The elderly lady wearing sunglasses sitting next to me said.

"I'm fine." _Just pray Athena and Zeus haven't gotten in any fights lately. The fact that I have to chose between a bunch of amazing men doesn't help my nerves either. _"Just fine."

"Are you sure?" She asked. The lady was getting on my nerves, but I knew she was being sincere, and not trying to be annoying. I think.

"Positive."

"Say, aren't you the girl on that hip chic TV show, what's the name... The Bachelorette?"

Great. Old ladies watch the show too. "Yes ma'am."

"I love that show. Young romance and drama. Two of my favorite things."

"Erm, young romance?"

"Why, yes."

"Aren't you, and I'm not trying to be rude or anything, a little _old _to like young romance? Shouldn't you move on to older romance?"

"Oh." She looked like she made a mistake. "Sorry. Habit."

"Habit?"

"You know, I used to be beautiful in my day. Elegant parties every night with handsome young men. Ah. I wish I could be there now. In fact, that's where I'll be going when we land."

"Huh?" I asked. This lady was confusing me. She looked around, and lowered her sunglasses. Where the sunglasses had been, young, smooth, tanned skin and beautiful chocolate brown eyes showed.

"It's Aphrodite." The lady said, her voice changing from old and cracked to young and sounding like bells.

"What!" I shrieked. People stared. I lowered my voice. "What are you doing here?" I hissed.

"Now, now. That's no way to treat a goddess." She said uncaringly, checking her perfectly manicured nails. "And be quieter. I'm incognito. It took me _ages _to get rid of Zeus's prying eyes. I had to use the best of my form and turning into this old lady instead of my usual teenage form. Before I got on the plane I kind of let Zeus know I was here so he wouldn't blast you and the others to pieces."

"Wouldn't it be the other way around?"

"Well, yeah. We're flying inside a super-strong bubble that Zeus is determined to break. Don't worry. The bubble is as strong as newlywed love."

"Umm, alright."

"Actually, Percy and Nico couldn't come on the plane." She admitted. "It was too hard to get them on without them dying."

I had taken a sip of my drink, but when she said this I sprayed it all over the chair in front of me. "What?" I growled. "Where the hell are they?"

"They had to take a different form of transportation." She said carefully. "They'll make it. I promise."

"Where are they?" I repeated.

"They'll be fine. If Percy bothers to use his powers."

"They're on a _boat?"_

"Of course. It's the fastest form of transportation."

"Besides, oh, I don't know... A plane, a car, a helicopter, basically any other freaking form of travel!"

"Relax! He's the son of Uncle Po. He'll get there faster then on a plane... if Zeus doesn't strike them with a lightning bolt first."

"_What?"_

"Never mind!" She said quickly.

"Couldn't you just tell Nico to shadow travel?"

She waved it aside with her hand. "Pssh. Ladies first. They can't arrive at the mansion before the lady. What fun would that be?"

"I don't want _fun. _I want order! I don't want them to die!"

"Why?" She said, raising her eyebrows suggestively. "Do you _loove _them?"

My cheeks burned. "No! Well, maybe. But that's not the-"

"Annabeth and Percy or Nico sittin' in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G. First comes love-"

"Shush! Couldn't you have just let Nico shadow travel or something?"

"But that's no fun." Aphrodite complained. "Anyway, we're descending. Zeus is getting weaker as we get closer to the ground. By the way, you won't be happy with your choice."

"What?" I asked, _really _confused now. But she just puts a finger to her lips then points to the ceiling.

_Ladies and Gentlemen, we are descending into Hollywood, California. We will arrive at the destination in approximately twenty five minutes. Thank you for flying with Jet Blue, and we hope to see you again. _

I turn toward the goddess, but she has earphones on and is staring intently at the screen, which is blank. "Aphrodite?"

She beckons for me to shut up and points to the screen. "Shh. Watching."

I groan and fall back into my chair. I put my seatbelt on and hand the remains of my water to an attendant. She smiles at me. "Thank you miss. I hope you enjoyed flying with us." She told me, before heading back into the pilot's cabin. I close my eyes. _Yeah, only my journey's not over yet._

**-o- **

The second I step out into the bright, overly sweltering sunshine, I'm swarmed with security guards and paparazzi.

"Is it true you've met Nico before?"

"Is it true that you once dated Percy?"

"Have you secretly been having an affair with another man, and this will be revealed in the grand finale?"

"Is it true your part of a top secret government agency to bring justice to people who don't believe in Unicorns?"

"What?" I asked, kind of creeped out by the last one. "Unicorns?"

"Yes, Unicorns." The man said, eagerly shoving the camera and mic into my face.

"Ms. Chase, come with us." A burly man said. Together we were led inside, where someone distracted the swarm of paparazzi and I was shoved into a cab. Why was security so tight? And I mean, _Unicorns?_

A low beep told me I had received a text message. I took out my BlackBerry and opened the text.

_Were you tackled by men with cameras too? _

It was from an unknown number. _Who is this?_

_It's Percy. On Justin's phone. _

_Oh. And yes, I was. _

_Where r u now?_

_In a cab. U?_

_Same. _

_We should prolly stop txting. I dnt want another mnster attack. _

_Good idea. C u at the mansion?_

_Yeah. L8r G8r. _

_L8r. _

I sighed and put away my phone. "How far away are we?"

"Oh, about ten minutes or so.

"Okay. Thanks." I said and sat back. I looked out the window and mansions with thirty foot tall windows with large chandeliers hanging in plain sight. After a while, we pulled up to a _gigantic_ pale orange villa with vines climbing up the sides. It had italian roofing and a ten foot tall and wide oak door, and a limo and eight different cars were parked out front, all sparking like new. The doors opened, and out stepped Chris, wearing a chocolate brown tuxedo despite the hundred and eighteen degree heat.

"Annabeth," He said warmly, and spread his hands. "Welcome to the Bachelorette Mansion." He then walked over to me and _air kissed _me. _Air kissed. _"So great to see you! I trust your flight was okay?"

I thought of Aphrodite, and how Percy and Nico probably wouldn't make it into the mansion for a while. Maybe even until the show was over. _Curse you Aphrodite! _Chris hooked his arm in mine and led me up the stone stairs. I breathed in semi-relief once we were inside and the doors were shut behind us; sealing away the outside world. And maybe my freedom.

**-o-**

Ten minutes later I was in a _warehouse _full of clothes with Gigi, Scarett and Mimi standing next to me. They were silent, staring at row after row after bathing suits of every kind known to man. Tankinis, bikinis, one pieces, sport suits, wet suits, swim trunks, speedos. Occasionally, one of the girls would squeal, pick something out, hold it up to me, then toss it aside after a moment of thought.

"Gigi-"

"Shh. Concentrating."

"But-"

"This is a fashion emergency, Annabeth! You need to shush. You must look fabulous for the pool party. In order to look fabulous, you must be quiet, so we can concentrate. Alright?"

"But Sc-"

"Shush!"

I huffed. "Gigi-"

"Annabeth? Doll? Be quiet."

"But-"

"Shush!" They chorused together. Then, they threw another bathing suit on the building pile. I shut my mouth, not wanting to get my head chopped off with professionally whitened teeth and manicured nails. Finally, I couldn't contain it any longer.

"Where's Scarlett?" I burst out.

"Sh- wait. She's right. Where is Scar?" Gigi asked Mimi.

Mimi shrugged. "Dunno. Scar! Scarlett!"

Nothing.

"Scarlett?" Gigi and Mimi shouted into the humongous warehouse. Their voice echoed, but no reply came.

"Boo." A soft voice said from behind us. And sadly, even though I've been through almost ten years of training and fighting monsters, it couldn't prepare me for a small girl with neon red hair who says, 'boo.' So, I screamed and whipped around. Scarlett was standing there looking quite pleased with herself.

"Scarlett! We were worried sick! Where were you?" Gigi demanded.

"You almost gave me a heart attack!" Mimi said, checking her pulse. "Don't do that again!"

"Think if it as revenge for the season one prank you pulled on me."

Mimi paled. "Alright, alright. I forgive you."

"Where were you?" Gigi demanded again.

Scarlett whipped out something bright green (and, I noticed, uncannily similar to a certain contestant's eyes.) with a black blotch that faded away on the bottom. Weird. Either way, it was gorgeous. It was beautiful. It was sleek. And most important, according to the girls, it was sexy.

"Put this on!" Scarlett said. "It'll look fabulous on you."

"Is there a reason it's the color of Percy and Nico's eyes?"

"Pssh." Mimi said, waving her hand. "Nah. Maybe." She shoved me into a dressing room and handed me the bathing suit. I shut and locked the door. I tried it on, and looked at the floor length mirror. It fit me perfectly, which was weird.

"Scarlett? Where did you get this?" I called, admiring myself in the mirror.

"Does it fit?" She called back.

"Yeah. But where did you get it?"

"Oh, I just... found it laying around."

"Even though it's exactly my size?"

"Yep."

"Even though it's the color of my former boyfriend's eyes and his good friend?"

There was silence. Then, a rush of words. "Yep."

"You _dated _Nico?"

"Percy and Nico know each other?"

I didn't answer.

"Answer us!" They all cried harmoniously.

"I didn't date Nico." I said slowly. Carefully. "And yes, Percy and Nico know each other."

"Why didn't you _tell _us?" Scarlett yelped. "This would make great gossip to _Us _Magazine! That money could be used to pay rent! A secret nobody knows... Why didn't you _tell _us?"

"What do you mean, secret?" I demanded, opening the door and stepping out. They paused to scan the outfit and in turn they nodded in approval. "Never mind the outfit! We can go over that later. What do you mean, _secret?"_

"Well. _Everybody _who's _anybody_ knows that you and Nico used to be enemies. But _nobody _knows that you and Percy dated!"

"I never said we dated!" I said, panicking. If Percy didn't want anyone to know we dated,(which we totally did, for the record.), then he kept it secret for a reason. Gigi looked straight at me, her piercing gray (gray?) eyes analyzing me, drawing out my secrets.

"Did you?"

This was a choice. I could say yes, and remain the naïve young women who tells the truth about everything. (That they know of.) Or, I could lie and say no and still keep the naïvety, which is a good thing, but all good things would have to end. I bowed my head. Anything to get away from those familiar eyes. No wonder Percy never looked me in the eye when I was frustrated or angry.

"Don't tell anyone." I pleaded softly. "Please."

"I don't know." She said, just as softly. "If the rent goes up, I might have to. Now put this on," She said, handing me a blue faded dress to put on over the swimsuit. "it's time to go."

We got up silently, each sunk deep in our thoughts. I don't know what the others were thinking, but I knew one thing; Gigi is not the innocent makeover-ist she says she is.

**-o-**

Justin splashed me. "C'mon in Annabeth. The water's great." He said, pushing water over the edge onto my legs. I pulled my legs out of the water and hugged them.

"Nah. I'm good." I turned to the guys surrounding me. "Hey, guys? Can I have some space?" They apologized and backed off. Justin splashed me again.

"Please?"

"It's okay." I said. "Promise."

He gave me the big lip and made his eyes as large as they could be. "Pwetty Pwease?"

"Alright." I said. I took off the blue dress and jumped in. I let myself sink to the bottom where I stayed, enjoying the silence. Letting myself think clearly for the first time in ages.

"Annabeth!"

_What? How can anybody talk under- ohhhh. I'm an idiot. _I thought, and opened my eyes. Everything was blurry and dark; the only light came filtering through the surface eleven feet above me. I started straight at the fuzzy blob that was Percy.(He had arrived a minute late at the pool party, him and Nico had taken one of the eight cars parked in the front driveway.) I raised my eyebrow, since I could not talk.

"I need to tell you something." He said, swimming over to me. The little scumbag was completely dry and breathing easily. I, on the other hand, felt like I was turning purple. I moved my hands around motioning for him to continue. "Justin in not the man he says he is."

I furrowed my eyebrows here, and he repeated it. "Justin is not the man he says he is. He's not all good."

I successfully attempted to mouth something. _Explain. _

"He already has a girlfriend. He's cheating on you with someone else."

I shook my head no.

"Annabeth, I read his text messages. He kept texting this girlfriend-boyfriend stuff to a girl name Katie Farnel."

At this, I gasped, which was my first big mistake. I inhaled water and started frantically coughing, only to inhale more water. Percy grabbed me and within seconds we were enveloped in a large bubble with me hacking up chlorinated water. Blackness was closing around the edges of my eyes as I desperately tried and failed to get air.

"Are you okay?" Percy asked, grabbing my shoulders.

I kept choking, and tried to speak, the black growing with each word. "Do-cough-I-cough-look-cough-okay? Coughcoughcough."

Then I blacked out.

**-o-**

I didn't think I was out for long, because when I came to, I was still underwater, and Percy's lips were on mine. At first I thought he was kissing me-kind of like the kiss that woke sleeping beauty- but he pulled away and took a breath before doing it again, breathing for me. Mouth to mouth. I jerked up, coughing like a maniac, and causing the bubble to rock dangerously. I hacked up more water, tasting chlorine and who knows what other chemicals.

"Annabeth! Are you okay? You told me something and you passed out. You were turning blue. Are you alright?" Percy asked. I coughed as much as needed before staring into his beautiful green eyes and answering him.

"You saved me." Which really wasn't much of an answer, but it's what I said anyway. He blushed.

"Yeah. I guess I did."

I cocked my head. "You look like a Christmas Decoration. Green eyes, red face."

He laughed. "Now I know you're alright. Criticizing me before your breathing for a minute."

"Who said I didn't like Christmas?" I said, still looking into his sea-green eyes. He stared into mine, and before I knew what was happening, we were leaning in for a kiss. Just as our lips touched I caught a flash of brown hair coming towards us. I pulled away.

"Percy, pop the bubble! Justin's coming." I hissed. His eyes popped open, and soon we were both floating toward the bottom of the eleven foot pool, staring into each other's eyes. Thankfully, as Justin came down to us, Percy had remembered to will himself to get wet. I could still faintly see his torso moving up and down, signaling he was breathing. I stared into his eyes once more, and this time, when we kissed, there was nothing extremely unusual about it. I got the feeling we only pulled away because of me. I needed to breathe. I winked at Percy before 'suddenly' turning to Justin, as if I hadn't realized he had been there. I looked between the two men and shot up toward air, where I took a huge, much-needed breath. Justin appeared not long after, followed by a Percy with a hand to his eye.

"Lets go to the shallow end. I'm exhausted." We swam toward the not deep water, and we sat on the stairs.

"What were you doing under there? I mean, besides kissing Percy."

"I was just seeing how long I could hold my breath." I lied smoothly. He squinted at me.

"Liar. Percy did something to you, didn't he?"

"Maybe."

"It also has something to do with the thing you refuse to tell me, doesn't it?"

"Maybe."

"You and Percy knew each other, didn't you?"

"Maybe."

"I'm gonna find out eventually, Annabeth. If I don't, someone will."

"Someone already knows." I whispered.

"Who knows?" He asked, taking my shoulders in his hands. "Annabeth, you've got to tell me."

"No, I don't. And I have to tell you, just like you have to tell me about your 'girlfriend'?" I shrugged off his hands.

His face was blank. "What?"

"Katie Farnel...?"

"My boss?"

"Your girlfriend!"

"How is she my girlfriend?"

"You were texting her all this romance-y stuff."

His eyes lit up. "Oh! I work at a romantic hotel for couples only. I was suggesting ideas for new stuff."

"Oh. Annabeth, how do you know about that?"

"I have my sources."

"Who? I need to know."

"No you don't! You don't need to know every freaking detail about my life!"

"If we get married then I do." He said, raising his voice, getting out of the pool.

"Who said anything about getting married?" I said, raising my voice to match his. I followed him out of the pool, where he was drying off by his chair.

"That's kind of the point of this show!"

"Marrying _you?"_

"Marrying _somebody!" _

"That _somebody _certainly won't be you!"

"Hey, guys. Chill." Nico came over, pushing us away from each other. "Calm down."

Justin turned on him. "This is between me," He said, pointing to himself. "and her." He said, pointing to me. "Stay out of it."

"Dude. Chill. Calm down. This is getting-" He was interrupted by a blow from Justin. Blood poured from Nico's mouth and he spit it out. "Did you just _punch _me? Seriously? Do you want to go with me? Wanna go?" Nico swung at Justin, and his fist made contact with his nose. A good, solid punch.

"No!" I gasped. "Stop! Nico, we all know you can win. Can you just-"

"Nico can beat me in a fight? Yeah, right. When pigs fly." Justin said, throwing a punch at Nico, who ducked and kicked him in the stomach. The red light attacked my vision once more, recording our fight.

"A lot of _shit _is gonna happen when pigs fly," Nico said, dodging another punch from the other man before using his foot to knock out Justin's knees, causing him to plummet to the ground and hitting the concrete _headfirst. _"And I bet half of it is shit about _you_."I swear, Justin's head bounced. I have to hand it to him, he had great stamina. He got back up, gingerly touched his mouth, then spit out some blood and a tooth.

"Oh, you're gonna get it, punk." Justin snarled, and tackled Nico. Nico's head slammed into the concrete, and he went limp.

"No! Oh, gods no. Gods, gods no." I gasped. I knelt next to Nico, who's eyes were closed and his head was bleeding. Fury built up in me, and I punched Justin in the face. He fell back in surprise, and I stomped my foot on his chest, knocking the wind out of him. "When I say stop, you stop." I growled. "Look what you did. Nico might be dead because of you. _Dead. _You could be a murderer. You son of a bitch. How dare you do that?"

"How can you hit so hard? I didn't think women could hit that hard! You really pack a punch! Literally!"

I punched him square in the nose. "Listen to me you bastard! When I say stop, you stop. Thanks to you, Nico might be dead."

"So? The S.O.B. deserves to be dead."

I leaned in real close to him, so my nose was touching his. "He's always been closer to death then you think. He's been to Hell and back to get where he is now, I swear on the River Styx." Thunder rumbled, sealing my swear.

"The River Styx? That's a child's play myth."

I sat up and narrowed my eyes. "You'll see when you die."

**-o-**

Four hours later, everyone is waiting anxiously in the Rose Room for Chris to come through those doors and tell us news about Nico in the hospital so we can get on with the Rose ceremony. Everyone's already been interviewed about today's events, and from what I've heard, everyone had a different opinion on it. Percy came into the room five minutes late with a black eye. I jumped up, glared at Justin who was chuckling, and rushed to Percy's side.

"What happened to your eye?"

"That jerk punched me underwater. It's not as bad as it could be."

"Couldn't you heal yourself?" I said under my breath.

"Chlorine doesn't work with inner body injuries, apparently." He answered.

"Oh. That bastard is gonna get it-"

Chris chose _then _to burst through the doors with a look of worry on his face. Though I could tell by his eyes it was rehearsed for the show.

"Nico will be alright. He has a intermediate concussion. " He said to the waiting men and me. Sighs of relief and a single groan from Justin met his words. I glared at Justin once more.

"What about the Rose Ceremony?" Cody asked. Chris's look of worry changed for a split second to annoyance before returning to it's rehearsed state.

"I was getting to that." He answered. He turned toward us. "There will be no Rose Ceremony tonight."

Murmurs of confusion aroused, but only I dared to speak up. "What? Why?"

"Someone has chosen to leave already. They've decided they can't stay any longer."

"Who?"

"Me." Justin said in a monotone and stood up. "Goodbye, Annabeth. It was nice meeting you."

Then, without a second glance, Justin Chavez walked out the doors and out of my life.

Good riddance.

**Sorry for the language. I thought it was needed. I mean, their not kids anymore. Their big kids now. I really liked this chapter, but I'm not really sure it flowed really well. I can't tell if this story is being read by serious readers who know what their talking about, or like, young kids. If your a flamer, can you please tell me what's missing? Can you please tell me what's bad about this fic? And maybe if you're nice, what's good?**

**And if you want you can tell me what your favorite part is!**

**-Blue. **


	6. Chapter 6: Bad, bad news

**OMQ. I have seventy something reviews. New record. For me at least. Anyywaay... I really liked the chapter before this one, Poolside Fight, I liked the fight scene. But one reviewer, who has NO name, you said something about me having a lime. Can I ask you what you mean by that? I didn't do that... Oh and another thing for you no-name reviewer, she kissed him on impulse. Kind of like the ADHD kicking in, I guess. Okay, this might just have to be my favorite chapter so far. Remember, there is a week between each chapter. So... Nico is BACK! Oh, this is one of the VERY few chapters that doesn't have anything to do with the show. It's important though. **

**-Blue. **

**Disclaimer: Of course. And as always regretting that I don't own The Bachelorette, PJO, or Jason Mraz's AWESOME song Geek in the Pink. Sadly.**

_Knock Knock Knock. _

"Who's there?" I groaned from my bed, not opening my eyes.

"Just open up." A voice demanded. My eyes popped open. I knew that voice. I checked the clock, 1:14. I threw the covers aside and jumped out of bed. I went to the door and stood on my tiptoes to peer out the peephole. I whipped open the door when I saw who it was.

"Thalia!" I exclaimed, pulling her inside and giving her an overdue bear hug. "Why are you here?"

She smirked. "Artemis gave me a leave of absence, y'know, cause it's my... um... thirty fifth birthday."

I whistled. "Girl, you getting _old_."

She frowned. "Maybe. But I'll pretty much always be sixteen."

"Yeah. But your thirty five. Happy Birthday!"

"Thanks."

"So why are you here on your leave of absence?"

"Every single girl in the Hunt watches the Bachelorette. It's as close as they can get to romance and drama without abandoning Artemis. That, and Degrassi."

"Oh. That still doesn't answer my question."

"It doesn't have to. I came because I haven't seen you in eleven years. Since the war. I still need to get Lady Artemis to let me get revenge on Hera for sending that statue upon me."

"_Hera _did that?"

"Yeah. She never liked me."

"But I thought-"

"You thought wrong. She sent it upon me and I couldn't see Luke die." She said, her eyes clouding a bit at _Luke. _"She said it was for my own good."

"You wouldn't want to see him die. It was horrifying."

"So I've heard." She said bitterly. "So. Percy's on the Bachelorette. Figures."

"So am I. And Nico."

Her eyes lit up considerably at Nico's name. "Nico?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Just curious." She said, but the spark never left her eyes. "Anybody else I should know of?"

"Umm, well Justin just left."

"Justin... Justin... Don't remember a Justin."

"You wouldn't. He's a bastard who almost killed Nico."

"What?" She demanded, quite loudly. "He almost _killed _him?"

"Yeah. They got into a fight and Justin shoved him onto the ground and Nico's head hit the concrete and he went all limp. He's got a intermediate concussion."

"What's his last name?" Thalia asked, her eyes full of malice.

"Chavez. Why?"

She marched over to my bedside table where my BlackBerry was charging. She ripped it out of the plug and was scrolling through something. Within a few seconds she had the phone up to her ear and was sitting on my bed, her legs crossed tightly.

"Justin? No, it's not Annabeth. It's her friend Thalia. Listen-"

"Thalia! what are you doing?" I gasped and wrenched the phone from her hands. I covered the mouthpiece so he couldn't hear our conversation. "Why are you doing this?"

"Annabeth, he almost killed Nico. You can't let him get away with that."

"I didn't! I punched his nose in and stomped on his chest." I froze with a sudden realization. I dropped the phone in surprise. "Thalia. Do you like Nico?"

She blushed. "Sure I do. We've been friends for like forever."

"Not as a friend. More then that."

She blushed harder. Her black hair had grown out over the years so it was down to her ears. I never thought that look would look good on her, but it did. "No. Of course not. I'm a Hunter, remember?"

"Thalia... Don't lie."

"Okay, fine." She said, exasperated. She fell back onto the bed. "Used to. When I was a kid."

"You did?"

"Yeah." She said. She sounded weak. Tired. I hated seeing her like this. "I did."

"Why?"

"I don't know! That's the thing, Annabeth! I don't have a reason why. I just did."

"But your a Hunter now. You can't love people."

"I don't love him! I might've used to but I don't now! I can't give up the Hunt for a silly crush. Besides," She cried out. Then her voice turned soft at _besides. _"he likes you."

It was my turn to blush. "No he doesn't! What are you talking about? There's no evidence."

"There doesn't need to be evidence, Annabeth. See, I see the way he looks at you. I see the way he gets a bit clumsy around you. Annabeth. I see the way he blushes when you get close to him. The way he's so eager to please you, like a little kid. He's anxious around you Annabeth."

"That's not true! He probably thought about it-"

She barreled on, speaking as if she hadn't even heard me talk. "But most of all, I saw the way he stood up for you. Almost instantaneously, Annabeth. He didn't even give it a second thought. He just stood up and got into a fight to protect _you _Annabeth. He really,_ really _likes you."

"All by watching TV?"

"Pretty much. How can you not notice?"

"But he doesn't-"

"He does, Annabeth. He likes you. Not me." She said, hanging her head between her knees. "He'll never like me. I don't even like him anymore." She probably said that for the sake of saying it.

"Thalia," I said, going to sit next to her on the bed and started to rub her back. "It's alright. But... do you still like him?"

She was silent for a long time. Suddenly, I felt all the heat drain out of her young body. I watched her as she fell back on the bed, her brilliant blue eyes clouded as she stared up at the ceiling. I gasped.

"You-"

"Don't say it." She said warningly. "I can't get kicked out of the hunt. I _can't. _It's my life."

"But Thaila. You do."

"I never thought about it." She said, almost as if to herself. "I didn't know. It's just..."

"Yeah." I said softly. "I know. I've been there. I thought I was crazy when I realized I, you know, _liked _Percy. But it's crazy _now."_

"Who are you gonna pick?" She asked quietly.

"I don't know." I said, saying each word carefully and very slowly. "I just don't know."

I stared at the floor, seeing nothing but a black blob. I stared at it for what seemed like forever in silence, until finally the blob came into focus.

It was a phone. My BlackBerry. And on the screen in letters just barely big enough to read from where I was, it said; _On the phone with Justin Chavez. _

I gasped. I got off the bed and picked up the phone. I heard breathing on the the other end. "Justin?"

The breathing stopped. The only answer I got was a dial tone.

**-o-**

Thalia was vomiting in the bathroom, and I was sitting blankly on the floor. Thinking about nothing, staring at nothing but cream colored walls, remarkably similar to the hotel room. Finally, when my staring cleared, I glanced at the clock and saw it was 3:19. Thalia had been here only about two hours, and she was already puking. Was this an omen of things to come? Finally, the puking faded to retching, and eventually that stopped. I heard her open a cabinet and take something out. I guessed she was wiping her face. Eventually, that sound faded to stifled sobs coming from the bathroom. I got up and sat next to her on the bathroom floor silently. I listened to her cry, I saw the sobs wrack her body, until finally she stopped, or ran out of tears. She looked up at me, her intense blue eyes surrounded by puffy red skin. Streaks of tears fell down her face and she looked my straight in the eye.

"He knows" She whispered. "Annabeth, my life is over. If Justin is like you said he was and like he was on the show, _everyone _is going to know about it in a matter of hours. Everyone. Lady Artemis, all the girls in the Hunt, the gods. But that's not the worst part. _Nico _will know, Annabeth. Nico."

"I know." I said truthfully. "I know."

"My life is over." She said officially. "Wonderful."

_Knock Knock Knock. _

"Who's that?" Thalia asked, sniffling.

"I don't know." I said, but I got up and told Thalia to stay put. I went to the door to my room where I knew just down the hall in separate rooms slept Nico(who had gotten back from the hospital two nights ago) , Percy, and all the other men. I opened the door. A young girl about fifteen years old stood there. She was wearing a beautiful silver silk dress that shimmered from the moonlight streaming in from a window. Her long brown hair looked as soft and silky as her dress, but her eyes showed infinite age.

"May I come in?" She asked politely.

"Um... are you?"

"My name is Artemis."

"Lady Artemis?" I gasped. _Uh oh. Thalia is toast. Tell her she can't come in._ "Of course you can come in." _Way to go, genius. Your best friend's life is going to end now. Smooth. _

"Thank you." She said, and sat delicately in the edge of my bed. "May I speak to Thalia?"

"Thalia's not here at the moment!" Thalia called from the bathroom. "Please leave a message after the beep." Surprisingly, there was a beep. It came from my phone. I picked it up from the bedside table and read that I had one new text message. I clicked open. It was from Justin.

_Revenge. _

That was all it said. I gulped and put the phone back to it's place. Artemis cracked a small smile. "Thalia, come out here. I need to talk to you."

A horrible looking Thalia came out in a few minutes, her puffy red eyes streaming with newly shed tears, her black hair a mess. She stood in front of Artemis and bowed. "My Lady. What are you doing here?"

"I must talk to you, Thalia."

I saw Thalia swallow. I saw a few more tears fall down her face. "Yes?"

"I heard you broke your oath."

"I didn't!" Thalia panicked. "I swear I didn't."

"You said you loved Nico."

"I didn't! I swear on the River Styx I never said I loved Nico."

"You said almost as good as that." Artemis said softly. "Thalia, I'm sorry. You had so much potential."

"Artemis-"

"Thalia. It's alright." She said softly. "Love is tricky. It can worm it's way into your soul without you realizing it. It'll take refuge somewhere inside you, slowly growing until you finally realize it. You can't control it. I understand it's not your fault. But I'm afraid you broke your oath." She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, as if trying to find the courage to say her next words. "The Hunt no longer requires your services."

Thalia made the most horrible sound ever as she collapsed to her knees; something between a choked sob and a cry of a lone wolf baying at the full moon. Her blue eyes were full of emotion. Unbearable sadness, regret, undependability, grief, almost hysteria, guilt, remorse, and undeniable misery. Her eyes followed Artemis as she left the room, closing the door behind her. I rushed after her, whipping open the door to try to tell her this was a mistake, but she was already gone. I turned back into the room and I watched as Thalia's eyes bore into mine for a few moments, before she closed them and she collapsed on the floor unconscious. I rushed toward her, checked she was breathing, and lifted her up into the bed.

**-o-**

I needed advice. I knocked on Percy's door again, wishing he wasn't such a heavy sleeper. I banged hard enough until the door finally whipped open. His face changed from angry at being woken up, to surprised at seeing me.

"Annabeth? What are you doing here?" He whispered. I didn't say a word as I grabbed his hand and led him to my bedroom, all too aware that I wasn't wearing much then half a centimeter thick pajamas. I opened the door and pointed to Thalia.

"Is that Thalia?" He asked, incredulous. "I haven't seen her in so long!" He stepped toward her to wake her up, but I pulled him back.

"Don't."

"Why not?"

I bit my lip, deciding whether or not to tell him. "Percy. She likes Nico."

"Of course she does. She's friends with him."

"Not like. _Like._"

His jaw dropped. "How do you know?"

"Three people know as of now. Me, Justin, and Artemis."

"Justin?"

"She heard he almost killed Nico, used my phone to call him and yell at him, and I yanked it out of her hands but didn't hang up and I asked her if she liked him and she told me and I realized I didn't hang up and when I picked up the phone I heard breathing and when I asked if he was there he hung up. He knows everything, and so will the world in a few hours."

"Artemis?"

"Percy," I said, gazing up into his green eyes. "she's not going to be going to the Hunt."

"Oh no." He said. I knew he knew how much Thalia being in the Hunt meant to her. "Is she all right?"

"She passed out. I don't know."

"Oh gods. This is bad. Really bad."

"I know."

"Are you gonna tell Nico?"

I was about to say, "Of course," but something stopped me. With a start, I realized I didn't _want _Nico to know in fear of him liking her back. _Don't be silly, Annabeth. He deserves to know. _One half of me said. The other; _Don't tell him. Have him to yourself. You're not supposed to be the one competing for someone. _

"I don't know. Should I?"

Something crossed his eyes. Jealousy. "Well-" He looked torn.

"She looked like she'd rather die then let him know." Which was true. "I don't think I should." Which wasn't.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah." No.

"Alright."

"Please keep this a secret. She'll tell him when she's ready."

"I can't keep it secret forever."

"I know. Just until she's ready."

"Okay."

I stared at him, watching Thalia. Her back was toward us, her breathing even and soft. She looked peaceful. Finally, he felt me watching him and turned to me. "What?" He asked.

"Nothing. Something."

"What?"

"Thanks."

"No problem."

I had a feeling it was, but I didn't say anything. I just wished he knew what I was feeling right then.

**-o-**

Thalia opened her eyes. She was about to call for Annabeth when she heard voices talking behind her.

"Artemis?"

"Percy," Annabeth was saying. "she's not going to be going to the Hunt."

"Oh no." A man, Percy, said. I knew he knew how much Thalia being in the Hunt meant to her. "Is she all right?"

"She passed out. I don't know."

"Oh gods. This is bad. Really bad."

"I know."

"Are you gonna tell Nico?"

There was a really, really long pause.

"I don't know. Should I?" Annabeth finally replied.

"Well-" He sounded torn.

"She looked like she'd rather die then let him know." Which was true. "I don't think I should."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

"Alright."

"Please keep this a secret. She'll tell him when she's ready." Annabeth said. _Would I? _Thalia thought.

"I can't keep it secret forever."

"I know. Just until she's ready."

"Okay."

There was another long pause. Finally, Percy spoke up. "What?"

"Nothing. Something."

"What?"

"Thanks."

"No problem."

She heard Percy leave, and Annabeth sigh. Eventually, Thalia fell back into the comfort of sleep, only sure of one thing; she had a choice to make. Would she tell Nico? Or would she let Annabeth keep him?

**DUN. DUN. DUN. **

**I really didn't want to have Thalia leave the Hunt, but... well... The next chapter isn't going to be part of the show either. Well, it might. Sigh. Everyone I knew said this version was better then the other, so I decided to go with this. Anyway. I hope you liked it. Poor Thalia. **

**-Blue. **


	7. Chapter 7: Decisions, Decisions

**I want to say somethinngg! Percaabeth lover, I know I used your idea. You can virtually hug me if you go to my profile! lol. I hope I did your idea well... I have an idea... I think you're all going to be happy in the end. Even Thalia. Even Nico. Even Annabeth. And even Percy. BUUTTT there's going to be a lot more to the story then you think. BE warned... there is a LOOTTT of italics down. They just need to exaggerate the use of a word a lot, I guess. **

**I'd day Justin, but he's not gonna be back...**

"Look." Thalia growled, plopping a newspaper in front of me. I took a sip of my water bottle, adjusted the strap on my tank top, and looked down.

_Love Triangle. _

Three pictures, one of me, one of Nico, and one of Thalia. Below the picture were the words; _Annabeth Chase; the Bachelorette, has been caught in the middle of a love triangle. Thalia, (right) has been heard talking to Annabeth about how she's in love with Nico Di Angelo, (middle), despite him being one of the seven finalists on the show. A source that will remain anonymous states that he heard it over a phone conversation. _

I didn't bother to read the whole article. "What about it?"

"My life is over. Officially."

"You don't know that Nico knows."

"He will. It's on the cover of every freaking magazine in this mansion!"

"What?"

"They restock them every day. It's everywhere. The kitchen, the bathrooms, the outdoor reading. _Everywhere."_

"Maybe he won't see it."

"He will, Annabeth. My life is over. I never should've told you. None of this would've happened if I hadn't."

"No, you just should've never called him."

"Maybe but-"

_Knock knock knock. _

"Who's that?" Thalia hissed.

"I don't know. Let's find out." I said, getting up. I checked the peephole. "It's Nico."

Her eyes widened to the size of saucers. "What do I do?"

"I don't know! Hide!" I said.

"Where!"

"I don't know! Wait," I said. I yanked open a drawer and dug around for a minute. Nico knocked again. I tossed Thalia an old and battered Yankees Cap that I hadn't used in years but carried around everywhere for emergencies. Like this.

"What is it?" Thalia asked, catching it.

"It'll turn you invisible."

She put it on her head and instantly disappeared. "Cool!"

"Hide in that corner so I know where not to let him walk."

"Don't worry. I'll just stay out of his way."

"And be-" Nico pounded the door again.

"Annabeth! I need to talk to you!"

"Quiet." I hissed. I whipped open the door. "Nico. Hey. What's up?"

"The sky. Did you see this?" He demanded, holding up a magazine with the picture of the three of us on it.

"Yeah. Who hasn't?" I said.

"Thalia likes me?"

"Of course she likes you. She's friends with you. You gotta like someone to be their friend."

"Not like that, Annabeth. _Like." _

I bit my lip. I felt something brush my ear. "Tell him. It's okay." Thalia whispered. "I think."

"Yeah." I said finally.

"Since when?" Nico asked, his black eyes boring into me.

"I don't know."

"Oh gods. Oh gods." He said, beginning to pace in a line.

"What's wrong?" I asked, following him. I could sense Thalia was standing right next to me.

"It's just... I don't know!" He said, sounding extremely exasperated. "_Thalia?" _

"What's wrong with Thalia?" I asked, defending my friend.

"Nothing. I just can't believe it."

"In a good way or bad way?"

"I don't know. She's sixteen. I'm twenty-two. Isn't there some sort of law that means you can't date someone if their under the age of eighteen and your over it?"

"Technically, she's thirty two."

"I'm still about eighty four."

"Your both over the age of eighteen, so... you're good!"

"I never said I liked her!"

Thalia yelped softly from behind me. Nico tensed. "What was that?"

"What was what?" I asked, trying to cover it up.

"That yelp. Is there anyone else here?"

"No." I lied. Nico closed his eyes.

"You're lying. I can sense a life force in here besides us. Annabeth," Nico said, placing his cold (really, _really _cold) hands on my bare shoulders. "you've got to tell me. Is anyone else in here? What I'm about to tell you, _no one _can know. At all."

"Thalia said that when she told me about you." I muttered.

"When did she tell you?"

"Really, really early this morning."

"Annabeth. Is there anyone in here?"

I heard someone's footsteps on the tile floor in the bathroom. Nico's head whipped toward it, and he headed in. "Hello?" He called, his hands out in front of him. "Anybody here?" Suddenly he gasped, felt around a bit, then finally took the hat of Thalia's head. His eyes showed many things: Shock, disbelief, anger, apprehension, a bit of admiration, loathing (which lasted the shortest), torment, suffering, dismayed, but most of all; he looked as if something he'd lost came back. The same look in his eyes when I had first met him at the beginning of the show.

"Thalia?" He choked out, and his voice sounded like his eyes looked.

"Nico."

"Do you?" He didn't need to say what. Thalia nodded slightly, her blue eyes half filled with tears.

"Yeah."

"But..."

"But _what_ Nico?" Thalia burst out. Nico looked surprised. "But _what? _You don't like me, you like Annabeth. It's obvious."

"It's _not _obvious, Thalia! It's not obvious because I don't know!"

"What?"

"I don't know. I just don't know. I _do _like you, but I like Annabeth too. It's too hard. Don't make me make this choice." Nico pleaded. "Please."

"Nico," we both said. Thalia looked at me, and I continued. "you have to."

"I can't, you guys. I can't. It's the impossible choice."

"Nico!" Thalia growled, getting up from where she had slid to the floor. "It's _not. _Alright? The impossible choice would be deciding whether or not to join the Hunt. The impossible choice would be deciding whether or not to use your Swiss Army Knife to hack off your leg while you're trapped under that goddam staute so you can see your best friend in his final moments." She took a shaky breath and when she closed her eyes, tears spilled out. Without opening her eyes, she spoke again. "The impossible choice would be deciding to let yourself fall in love with someone you know you shouldn't. That you can't. But then your realize you can't help yourself and you try desperately to keep it from anyone who would ruin your life. This isn't the impossible choice, Nico. At all." Her voice rose with each word until she was basically screaming at the end.

Nico was silent. He fell to the ground and let his head roll to the left. His eyes were closed, and I could practically see the gears whirring in his head, trying to figure this mess out.

"I can't, Thalia."

"What about me?" I spoke up. "Would you choose for me?"

"I can't tell you, because I don't know. I can't stand it. It's driving me insane!"

"Of course you know! Maybe not now, but deep, deep inside you know." Thalia said quietly. "And _I_ know it's Annabeth."

"Maybe it is Annabeth, Thalia! I don't know. I can't decide between someone who might not even love me in the first place and someone who I just realized I've been crushing on for ages. Do you know what that's like, Thalia? Knowing something's different with you but not being able to realize what it is? You know how shocked I was when I figured it out? When I realized I love both of you?"

Thalia didn't answer for a while. "I do, Nico. I didn't even know I loved you. It came as double for me. I was shocked beyond words."

"Yeah right."

She glared at him, a look that could probably kill him if he had looked her in the eye. "Because being a freaking Hunter isn't enough! It doesn't matter anyway. You're gonna chose Annabeth. I just wish you hadn't made it so obvious." She stormed out of the room.

"Have you ever noticed that maybe I've done the same thing to _you _too Thalia? I've been crushing on you _both _since I've gotten to know you. Forever." Nico said, sounding as if he forgot I was there. Again, that flash of silver appeared next to him, solidifying only for a second before fading away. Nico shook his head, as if whatever the silver thing had told him was wrong. Without a word, he stormed out of the room. I winced when I heard the door slam, shaking everything on the walls. There was deadly silence.

Without a word, I started to cry.

Without a word, I got up and washed my face when I was done.

Without a word, I picked up my phone.

Without a word, I texted Nico asking who he picked.

He didn't reply.

Why did I feel so sick?

**-o-**

Surprisingly, there wasn't _any _surprising or unusual events at the activity. We had dinner together. I barely ate anything. The entire thing went by in a daze. Nico sat as in an odd spot. Semi-close to me, yet closest to the door. Percy sat next to me, and on the other side was Cody. Anyway, after the dinner, after Gigi and the girls had gotten me dressed up, (Gigi's rent didn't go up, thank the gods.), Chris wheeled me to the Rose Room and told me two men would have to go home.

"Why? It's the final six. Shouldn't I only send one home?"

"I drew a C.A.R.D."

"Card?"

"No, a C.A.R.D. Creative Activity Reducing Dogs."

"Dogs?"

"Dogs symbolizing the men of course."

"Oh. So you drew one?"

"Yes, it's a tradition. If someone on the show leaves, then for the next episode you draw a C.A.R.D."

"Um... Okay?"

"Yes, now go. There are only four roses. Go out and pick your men."

I took a deep breath. "Okay."

He gave me a little push, and then disappeared behind a curtain where I knew he would reappear in that corner. I took another deep breath and pushed open the wooden doors. I didn't even glance at the men until I picked up the first rose. Then, I turned toward them, spinning on my heel.

"Two of you must leave tonight. It's part of the activity today."

Collective murmurs, none sounded good. I could see the look of hope on their faces, Percy attempted to look like he had the advantage, Nico looked blank. I picked up the first rose. I took a deep breath, then froze when someone whispered ever so softly in my ear. "You can have him." I tried to not move my lips as I hissed, "Thalia?"

"You can have Nico, Annabeth. It's okay." She didn't sound okay.

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

The men were looking confused, and Chris was beckoning for me to continue, so I did.

"Nico," I asked. His eyebrows popped up. "will you accept this rose?"

He walked up to me. "What about-"

I heard her whisper into his ear, but I don't think it'd be nice to tell you what she said. Some things have to remain private, you know? Anyway, Nico nodded, said the same thing back to Thalia, and took my rose. He went to the safe zone.

"Percy," I said, more certain now. "will you accept this rose?"

"What happened to-"

"Later." I whispered in his ear. He joined Nico at the safe zone. Ten minutes later, only Cody, Brandon, Austin remained.

**-o-**

"Why did you give him up?" Was the first thing I said when I barged into my room. Thalia was sitting on the floor, staring at the wall.

"I don't know. It's the right thing to do."

"You lie. You still want him."

"Of course I do. You don't get over your second love any faster then your first."

I think I know who's she's talking about, but I know better then to ask. "I know."

"How?"

"Thalia, you don't know who I've fallen in love with over the years. Each one has let me down in some way or another. Only two haven't."

She knew better then to ask too, though I could sense she wanted too.

"I don't get it, Annabeth. Why does love have to be so complicated?"

"It's just like it's mother. Aphrodite."

"Figures. You think she has something to do with it?"

I shook my head. "She can't control us. She can't control our feeling. She can only alter them for as long as she's in our presence, and even then it's only if she wants to."

"How do you know that?"

"I studied the gods basically my entire childhood. I know things."

"I know you do. So do I."

I was silent.

"Annabeth?"

"Yeah?"

"I hate you."

"Thanks."

"But... I love you too. As a friend. Not like that."

"I know."

She rolled on her back. "Do people think it's weird for a sixteen year old to be hanging around with you?"

"Yep. But I don't care. You're the best friend a girl could have. Mostly."

"Thanks."

A beep told me I received a text message. I opened it up. It was from Percy.

_What's up between you and Nico? He's acting all weird. _

I looked up at Thalia, who was staring at the wall again. Her eyebrows were scrunched up and her blue eyes were barely visible slits. Her arms were crossed, and she had changed out of her silver Hunter's dress and into some tattered black jeans and her old, DEATH TO BARBIE T-shirt. I looked back down at the screen and replied.

_I wish I knew, Percy. I wish I knew. _

**Soooo... ummm... Not the best. But I could just see Nico pacing around the room in the morning while Annabeth was watching him and an invisible Thalia following him. Annyyywaaaay... Forgive me? Not the best... I know... But I promise in the end you'll forgive me. You guys are gonna love the end, I promise. Now, I have one question; **

**Do you mind if I just do the drama of the people on the Bachelorette, or do you like it when I make them all do the activity? Also, do you care if I write in different POV's?**

**Alrightey then. I have SOOOO many reviews! THANK YOU SOOOO SOO SO SO SO SO MUCH!**

**-Blue. **


	8. Chapter 8: Thanks for the Memories

**Alrighteyyyy... Thanks for the Revvviiewss! Anyway, I know Thalia acts pretty... erm... drunk in this, but that's what caffeine does to you. It makes you all jittery and you're barely in control of your acts and emotions. (Been there, done that.) You're really hyper and you can't really control yourself. It's kind of like the kid version of being drunk. I think. Okay, I screwed up in the chapter before this. Thalia was supposed to say, ""There doesn't need to be evidence, Annabeth. See, I see the way he looks at you. I see the way he gets a bit clumsy around you. Annabeth. I see the way he blushes when you get close to him. The way he's so eager to please you, like a little kid. He's anxious around you Annabeth." In Decisions, Decisions. That's why Nico said, ""Have you ever noticed that maybe I've done the same thing to **_**you **_**too Thalia? I've been crushing on you **_**both **_**since I've gotten to know you. Forever." It was supposed to be, Thalia says her line, then leaves, then Nico says that line, then leaves. **

**I hope it makes sense that way... at least, as much sense as my crazy mind will let you get. **

"Open up immediately!" Chris banged on my door. He sounded scary. I opened the door, dragging it out. Chris barged in, straight to the other end of the room where he held up a magazine. "Do you indeed know this girl?"

"Yes."

"Why is she in love with a man who is six years older then her? That's like putting a twelve year old in front of a six year old and them falling in love. What do they have in common? Nothing."

"Chris, they've known each other for ages. Thalia basically rescued Nico from one of the worst times in his life. If she likes him, she's certainly given up enough to be with him."

"Like what." Not a question, more like a statement. I answered anyway.

"She basically gave up her life, Chris. She got kicked out of the thing that meant the most to her."

"And what would that be?"

"It's a girl thing."

"Sure it is. It's a girl thing that doesn't exist."

"Chris, if you want to believe that, go ahead. I really don't care. I'm not in the mood for this."

"Annabeth, you've got to tell me. Did they know each other before?"

"Yeah."

"Did they ever date?"

"No."

"Why not then?"

"Because Thalia wasn't allowed to."

"Her parents?"

"Something like that."

"When did they meet? How old was Nico? How old was Thalia?"

"Nico was twelve, Thalia was fourteen."

"Stop making up lies!"

"I'm not lying!"

"How the hell was Thalia older then Nico?"

"I don't have time for this. Get out." I said, pointing my arm toward the door.

"You can't-"

"Oh yes I can. Get. Out."

He scowled at me, but he left. Only a few seconds after the door slammed, it opened once again. "I told you to get out!"

"Uh, no you didn't." Thalia said. She plopped herself down next to me, then got up, then sat back down again. Her black jeans and black t-shirt with light blue and white splatter paint on it made her look tired. Don't ask me why, it just did.

"You're sounding better."

She shrugged. "Espresso coffee with eight packs of sugar in it and three sugar cubes helps."

"Thalia..."

"What?" She said, her eyes were bloodshot. She was drumming her fingers on her lap and tapping her foot in hyper speed.

"You have a caffeine overdose."

"Don't be silly."

"I will. Thalia, how many cups of that did you have?"

"Two. Now where's the bathroom? Oh yeah it's over here I'm gonna go to the bathroom now Annabeth hold on a second." She said all at once. She went to the bathroom and shut the door. The toilet flushed, and I heard a loud squeal.

"What is it?" I called.

"The toilet makes a funny noise!"

Yeah. She had an extreme overdose. This couldn't end well, ADHD plus caffeine rush equals bad. When she came out, she turned up the radio super loud and started dancing to _I'm Yours _by Jason Mraz. Somebody knocked on the door. I got up and opened it without even checking who it was. I wished I _had _checked the peephole, because in barged Nico, who skidded to a stop when he saw what Thalia was doing. She spun around a few times with her eyes closed, lost in the music. Finally, she sensed that someone was staring at her, and she turned and opened her eyes. "Hi Nico!"

"Um, hi?"

"Whaddya doing here?"

"Umm-"

He was cut off because Thalia just did the most extreme, surprising, unpredictable thing I've ever seen her do. She stood on her tiptoes, threw her arms around him, and planted her lips on his. Nico looked stunned, but he didn't pull away. Finally, she pulled away and without a word grabbed his hands and pulled him into a dance. The song on the radio changed to _In the Arms of the Angel _by Sara Mclaughin, and they started to slow dance. I stood and watched, but I didn't interfere. It tore my heart into pieces when he rested his head softly on her head, and each piece in half when she nuzzled her face into the crook of his neck. When the song was over, I turned the radio off. They looked at me as if they just noticed I was there.

"Nico," I said, staring at the floor. "come on. It's time for the activity."

**-o-**

"You know the rules," Chris said a few hours later. "one man goes home, the rest stay." He acted if we hadn't argued earlier in the day.

"I know."

"After dinner there will be another activity. You will share a dance with the four remaining men."

_Shocker._ "Oh. Okay."

"Good. Now go knock 'em dead."

"If I'm lucky." I went through the doors. Chris appeared in his corner a few seconds later.

"Hey." I said quietly.

"Hi." Austin said.

"Hey." Cody said.

"Hiya." Brandan said.

Nico didn't meet my eye. Percy just lifted his head up a bit to acknowledge that I spoke.

"Well. Whoever doesn't make it through tonight, know this was a hard choice. You all definitely dazzled me tonight, and it was a tough choice to pick who was going home. I just want you to know that I really love you all. I've fallen for each and every one of you, and I think this is going to be one of the hardest decisions in my life." _Lies. All lies. _I managed to force a tear from my eye for show, and I delicately wiped it away, inwardly rolling my eyes. "Anyway. Before I bore you all to death with my lecture, I just want you to know that I love you all to pieces. Okay, I think that covers it." I took a deep breath, and fingered the first rose. I felt the delicate petals rub gently against my fingers feeling like silk. When I opened my eyes, everything seemed different. Clearer. As if I had been watching through glass for the past three months. Being able to see everything, but only being able to observe, not interact. I realized why; the choice who I was going to pick in the end was clear. I just needed to make it there first.

"Percy, will you accept this rose?"

He smiled, not showing his teeth. A smile of relief that he made it to the next round. "Sure." He took the rose and walked, almost carefree to the safe zone.

"Austin," He looked up and shook his shaggy rust colored hair out of his eyes. "will you accept this rose?"

"'Course I will, Annabeth. Anything for you." He took the rose, smiled charmingly at me, and went to join Percy.

I took a deep breath as I took the second to last rose in my fingers. I held it to my nose and smelt the flower. "Cody, will you accept this rose?"

His blonde hair bounced slightly as he nodded. He stepped up, and I placed the rose in his fingers. He smiled, first at the rose, then up at me. "Thanks."

"No problem."

Nico and Brendan were left. I lifted up the last rose. "This rose is for all the marbles." I said eventually. "This decision was the hardest to make, but I know that I made the right choice in the end. " I looked at Nico then Brandan. "Nico. Will you accept this rose?"

Brandon's eyes deflated. Nico's eyes were more then ever filled with sorrow and depression, but a small flame of hope that ignited when I said his name. Nico walked up to me, looking very uncomfortable in his dark black tuxedo. Without a word he took his rose and tucked away in his chest pocket. "I guess."

"You don't seem very enthusiastic."

He shrugged. "I don't need to be." He went to join Percy to the safe zone. I looked at Brandon.

"I'm sorry. I'll see you in the Grand Ballroom in about an hour."

I left, my heart being compressed under a million pounds of theoretical weight. I walked to the makeup room, and let myself in where the girls were already waiting. We had gotten into the habit of not talking since the pool party, and this habit did not break as they dressed me in a pale blue dress that got darker closer to the bottom with white ruffles at the bottom as well. It had a string pattern on the back, long sleeves, and a fluttery white jewel design on the front. It had scarves attached to the bottom that would attach to a thin golden bracelet around each of my wrists. It was gorgeous, easily the prettiest dress I've ever seen. Even if I did hate the girls, they never failed to amaze me with their choice of outfits. They put very little makeup on me, adding a bit of eyeshadow and lip stain that made my lips a bit lighter. They put my hair up in a thick pony-tail type thing and added a few white flowers. They threw on some white high heels and stood me up to look me over. When I finally got to see myself in the mirror, I gasped. I looked sexy, elegant, beautiful, glamourous, and graceful. Of course on the way out, I had to ruin the graceful part by tripping over the shoes. But I made it to the ballroom without any other further mess up. When I stepped in, the room fell silent. The men looked up at me, and Austin's jaw dropped, which made me smile. I stood there taking in each man for a bit before I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around, the dress flowing around me like a river, and saw Percy. He bowed fancily, holding up his hand.

"May I have this dance, madam?" He asked in a fake british accent.

"You may." I said, echoing the accent. I placed my hand in mine, and mozart started to play. Slowly, cautiously, we started to dance. We didn't need to say anything, each of us were absorbed in our own memories.

_Flashback._

_I had grown a bit taller then Percy since the last time I'd seen him. I pulled off my ski cap, and my long blond hair tumbled down my shoulders. I didn't say anything, kind of enjoying the moment of semi-silence, kind of hoping he would say something. _

_"So…" Percy stammered. "Um, design any good buildings lately?"_

_I could feel my eyes light up. I stood a little straighter. "Oh my gods, Percy. At my new school, I get to take 3-D design as an elective, and there's this cool computer program where you can knock down a normal building and create your own. Everything from the mini people inside to the overall structure. So I'm creating this building on Ground Zero, a memorial to all the people who died. It's so amazing, I'm thinking about presenting it to the mayor for an idea." I knew I didn't stand a chance, but it was a secret hope. I loved, no, I _adored_ talking about architecture. I kind of trailed off when I saw slight disappointment in his green eyes. It was the first time I'd gone to school in New York, the first school I actually liked. I'd been hoping to see Percy more often. Although it was a boarding school in Brooklyn, me and Thalia were both attending, close enough to Camp Half-Blood that Chiron could help if they got in any trouble, I hardly ever saw him. Maybe it was because it was an all girls school, and he was going to MS-54 in Manhattan, I hardly ever saw him._

_Yeah, uh, cool," Percy said. "So you're staying there the rest of the year, huh?"_

_I scowled. "Well, maybe, if I don't—"_

_"Hey!" Thalia called to us. She was slow dancing with Grover, who was tripping all over himself, kicking Thalia in the shins, and looking like he wanted to die. At least his feet were fake. Unlike Percy, (And probably me.), he had an excuse for being clumsy. "Dance, you guys!" Thalia ordered. "You look stupid just standing there."_

_Percy looked nervously at me, then glanced the groups of girls who were roaming the gym._

_"Well?" I asked._

_"Um, who should I ask?"_

_I punched him in the gut. "Me, Seaweed Brain."_

_"Oh. Oh, right."_

_So we went onto the dance floor, and I saw Percy look over to see how Thalia and Grover were doing things. After a minute of contemplating, he put one hand on my hip, and I clasped his other hand firmly. _

_"I'm not going to bite," I told him. "Honestly, Percy. Don't you guys have dances at your school?"_

_He didn't answer. He probably did, but he was probably one of the morons in the corner playing basketball with a balloon._

_At least he was a cute moron. _

_We shuffled around for a few minutes. I kept thinking about things to say, each one probably was going to result in failure. His hands were a bit moist, but nothing too bad. _

_I kept wishing he would lean in and kiss me already, but I knew it wasn't the time. _

_How? _

_He pulled away and pointed to the two possible half-bloods being herded toward a door. _

_End of Flashback. _

I was jolted back into reality by Percy's voice. "What are you thinking about?"

"The dance at Westover Hall, right before I got kidnapped by that stupid helicopter."

"I was thinking about the look on your face when I returned from Calypso's Island."

I blushed. "You were supposed to be the one that I got to go on my first quest in _ages _with. Give me a break."

"I did."

A long but not awkward pause.

"I think I should give the other men a chance."

"I think you should too."

"Don't worry," I whispered into his ear before I pulled away. "I'll dance with you again before the night is over."

"You better."

"I will!" I pulled away and smiled up at him.

"Annabeth?"

"Yeah?"

"You look great tonight."

"Thanks. It means a lot."

We shared another smile and we broke away. Instantly, another man held his hand up to me. It was Austin.

"Can we... um... dance? If you don't want to then you don't have to but-"

"Of course I will." I took his hand and started to waltz. The entire time we were dancing he didn't say a word. He just acted as nervous as a bird. I cut his time short. He wasn't saying anything. "It's been ten minutes," _Lie. Only five. _"I think I should spend some time with the other men."

"Okay." He looked relieved and exhausted. As if his job was hard.

I danced with Cody, who also didn't say anything, then with Austin again, before I told them I needed to dance with someone else. I tapped Nico on the shoulder, and he turned around, carefully holding a glass of wine. "Can we dance?"

He shrugged, but he put the glass down and took my hand and placed his hand on my hip, so I took that as a yes. We danced in silence for a while, but then I sighed in exasperation. "You've barely talked to me all night. You don't talk a lot, but this is quiet, even for you. Why are you being so quiet?"

He shrugged again. "I have a lot on my mind."

"I bet you do. So do I."

We were silent again, until my big mouth decided to spurt off. "What's your favorite song?"

"I don't know. What kind of song?"

"Um... slow song."

Just then, the song changed. It was a song I didn't recognize until the chorus, which was when Nico realized it as well. He turned deathly pale and stopped dancing. "I-I-I need to go." He broke away and put his head in his hands.

"What? Wh-" _Oh. I know this song. _

_"In the arms of an angel. Fly away from here. From this dark cold hotel room. And the endlessness that you fear. You are pulled from the wreckage... Of your silent reverie... You're in the arms of the angel, May you find some comfort here."_

_In the Arms of the Angel _by Sara Mclaughin.

The song Thalia and Nico danced to earlier this morning.

I suddenly couldn't breathe. I needed fresh air. I broke a promise that night. I didn't dance with Percy. Instead, I ran out of the ball room and straight up the stairs into my room. I barged in.

"You're back ear-" Thalia started, but I ignored her as I threw open the glass doors to the balcony and outside. Cool, fresh air met my nose and I inhaled gratefully. Thalia came outside and stood next to me.

"Nice dress." She seemed exhausted, as if she was straining herself to stay awake. The caffeine rush seemed completely faded away, and she was experiencing the crash afterwards.

"Thanks."

"Why are you back so early?" She stifled a yawn.

"I couldn't breathe."

"Why?"

"A song that brought back too many memories for both of us started to play. I couldn't stand it."

"Us being..."

"Nico and I."

She paled. "What happened this morning? It's a blur."

"You got incredibly hyper and started dancing. Nico came,

"Yeah."

She smashed her head against the smooth stone. Softly, but hard enough for me to get the point. "I'm. Such. An. _Idiot!" _

"Maybe," I said, wrapping my arm around her. "But your _my _idiot."

She laughed. "Remind me to _never ever _drink coffee again. At least not until I can handle it."

"So... never."

"Maybe."

"I'm glad to see your feeling better."

"Me too."

**I'm glad to announce; **

**I have officially decided about what the last chapter will end **_**exactly**_**...**

**And how the sequel will begin. **

**:) **

**-Blue. **

**Don't worry. **

**There is still going to be more of this.**

**But expect it finished by Late August or Early September. **

**The sequel will come out in around late September or mid October. **

**More likely mid October because September is **_**always **_**busy for me. First month of school, blah blah blah. **

**You know what I'm talking about. **


	9. Chapter 9: Lost and Found

**Hey guys... I just got back from a visit from NYC, I auditioned for a SunnyD radio commercial! It was weird! But then I spent the entire day walking around the city.**

**Word of advice: GO TO FAO SHWARZ! IT'S SUPER DUPER AWESOME! Also, if you go, play on the big piano. It was fun. :)**

**Anyway. **

**There is about four more chapters left in this fanfic, after Austin and Cody get voted off- Oops. Said too much. But you all prolly knew that was gonna happen... Sorry this chapter is so short, I'm super tired and I'm about to eat some tacos. It's probably not that even good. But I have a question (shocker, I know.); Do you want to wait a kind of long time for a really really long chapter, or wait a day or two for semi-short ones?**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything that I don't own. I hope I cleared things up.**

**Recap: Austin, Cody, Percy, and Nico are here. Annabeth is of course still the Bachelorette. **

**Chapter Title: Lost and Found.**

"_THALIA,_" I shouted, dropping the hairbrush in disgust. "Get your _butt _in here this instant!"

I was greeted with silence. Nothing but the dull sound of the warm December-In-Hollywood wind blowing against the balcony door. "Thalia!"

More silence. "Thalia?"

Nothing. "Hello? Is anybody here?" I put the hairbrush in the sink and left the bathroom. The room was empty, the bed recently made by the housekeeper, but Thalia's worn beyond repair sneakers were by the door. "Thalia?"

I peered through the glass balcony door to see no one on the balcony. I checked under the bed, in the closet, behind the T.V., and even on the ceiling. "This isn't funny, Thalia. Tell me where you are!"

Still nothing. I took my key and left the room. I practically ran downstairs to Chris's exclusive room. I rammed my fist against the door, over and over and over until I was sure my hand was going to go through the door.

Something grabbed my arm from behind me. Instinctively, I threw my hand back farther then usual; punching whatever it was in the nose. Then I used his own weight against him where I bent over and flipped him over. My arm screamed in agony, but it wasn't broken. I kicked him without seeing who it was. In the middle of the second kick, I froze in shock. "Nico?"

"Nice to see you too." He said, grimacing and gripping his nose with his hand.

"Oh gods, Nico. I'm sorry."

"It's alright." He said. He tenderly touched his nose, and winced. "I think."

"What are you doing here?" I offered my hand and he took it.

"Looking for you. Have you seen Thalia? I need to tell her something."

"I was going to ask her the same thing. I haven't seen her. I came back from the interviews for the show and she was gone! Trust me, I looked everywhere."

"Are you sure?" Just then, Chris opened his door, standing there in a red bathrobe and wet hair.

"Sheesh. I thought somebody died the way you pounded the door. Why are you here?"

"Where's Thalia?" I demanded.

"Who?"

"Thalia! The girl who's been sleeping in my room with me for the past three weeks!"

"But you're on the show. Dating men." Chris looked confused. I was confused.

"What?"

"I thought-"

"What? Oh, no. She's been staying with me. She doesn't have anywhere to go."

"Oh. Whew." Chris sighed in relief. "I thought... you know..."

"I'm aware. Now do you know where she is?"

"Black hair, blue eyes, sixteen?"

"Yeah."

"She can't stay with us any longer."

"_What? _Why not?"

"Annabeth, do you understand that this mansion is purely for the use of the contestants on the show. She can't use it any more than a rat in a kitchen. She simply does not belong."

"Where did she go?"

"I called her parents and told her what she was up to."

"Her parents? What?"

"It took a bit of, ah, persuading, but she gave me the number in the end."

"Do you mind if I have the number?"

"Don't you have it?"

_Of course not. Thalia doesn't have any parents. _"Umm, I got a new phone recently and I couldn't save the SIM card."

"Oh. Well, fine. But wait here." He disappeared into his room and when he came out ten minutes later, he was dressed in a crisp white collar shit and black pants. He held up a piece of paper, and handed it to me. I grabbed it.

"Thanks."

"You can't have the paper, I need it!"

But I was already running up the stairs two at a time, with Nico on my heels.

**-o-**

"Is she answering?" Nico asked.

"It's ringing." Second ring. Third ring.

"Is she answering?"

"Hello?" A calm, familiar voice asked. _Where do I know that voice from?_

"Who is this?" I demanded.

"Who is _this?_"

"I asked you first. Wait," I paused, analyzing the voice on the other end in my head. "Mrs. Jackson?"

"Who is this?" She asked agan sharply.

"It's-It's Annabeth."

"Oh." Her voice softened by tons. "Hi, Annabeth. Why are you calling?"

"Is anybody else there?"

"Well... no."

"Are you sure?"

"No."

"Who do you _think _is there?"

She put her hand over the receiver, something I knew because the sound dulled on the other end. Faintly, I heard a conversation.

"Thalia, it's Annabeth. Do you want to talk to her?"

"No."

"Come on, you've got to talk to her eventually."

"Eventually doesn't mean today."

"It does in my world." Sally snapped. "Now get on the phone."

"Fine." The hand let go of the receiver. "What."

"Thalia? Where were you?"

"Chris kicked me out. He wouldn't let me tell you, as the little ba-"

"Couldn't you call me, or text me, or something?"

"With what phone?"

"A pay phone?"

"I could've."

"Why didn't you?"

"Because I was tired."

I scowled, then realized it was stupid because she couldn't see me. "I'm scowling Thalia."

"Good to know." I heard her yawn. "Can I call you later? I'm exhausted."

"Sure," I said, but Nico beckoned to hand him the phone. "but Nico wants to talk to you. But if your too tired..."

"No!" She said immediately. "I mean, nah. I'm not too tired." I shook my head and handed Nico the phone.

"Go easy on her." I whispered to him. Nico smiled and held the phone to his ear.

"She says she heard that."

"Tell her I don't care."

After a while of; nuh-uh's And; uh-huh's, he decided to say something else. "Thalia?" Pause. Nico's pale cheeks colored a bit, and he stuttered when he answered her. "Um, don't run off again. I was worried about you."

I heard a faint voice on the other end, "What?"

"I mean," He said, he face coloring a bit darker. "_we _were worried about you."

He paused, listening for her answer. Chris began to tap his foot. "Alright. Bye, Thalia." He closed the phone and handed it back to me.

"What did she say?"

He didn't answer, he just turned and walked away.

**-o-**

Something in my heart stirred as I picked up the first rose. I rubbed my finger against the soft petal and it came off in my hand. I let go of it and watched it flutter to the ground, where it landed on the heel of my black high heels. A single spot of color in the midst of all that black. _He loves me._ I took a deep breath. "Nico," I no longer needed to say the word, but I said them anyway as he stepped forward. "will you accept this rose?"

"Yeah." He took the rose, and went to the safe line. I glanced down at my hand. A single petal was left in my hand. _He loves me not. _I watched him shuffle to his place and look up at me expectantly. I blushed and turned back towards the three men still standing. "Austin. Will you accept this rose?"

He smiled softly at me, took the rose, and joined Nico. The final rose felt like it was made of nothing but thorns as I picked it up from the table.

"Percy. Will you-"

"Yes." He took the rose and joined the two men. I glanced at Cody and saw a tear fall silently down his cheek. He nodded, then without a word ran out of the room. I followed in pursuit, but when I hit the hallway, he was gone.

**-o-**

"There." She said, scrawling the last word on the note. "Perfect. Now, I just need to-" She glanced around the room, her eyes landing on a fountain. She got up from her throne and walked over to it. She waved her hand, and the water stopped spouting at the speed of, well, water, and evaporated into nothing but a faint mist. She seemed to wrap her fingers around air, but when she spread her hand out again there was a single coin in her palm. She threw it into the mist and it disappeared into the curtain of water. "Iris!" A small girl wearing a tie-dye dress appeared in the mist.

"Yes?"

She stuck her hand into the mist. "I need you to give this note to Nico Di Angelo. He is in Hollywood, at the Bachelorette Mansion. Hades's son?"

"I know the kid." She took the envelope and put the coin in a coin belt that was hanging around her waist.

"Good. Now, bye-bye."

"Goodbye." And with that, Iris snapped her fingers and closed the portal.

The woman who wrote the note sat back satisfied. The note would _certainly _stir things up a bit. If, of course, Nico even bothered to read it. She closed her eyes and settled for a light nap, daydreaming about her show.

"_Aphrodite!" _

She jolted awake, and groaned slightly. _What now?_

**Ooh. Things are getting intense. This chapter, I know, is by FAR the worst. Except maybe the very end. Anyway, the next chapter will be a bit better, then the beginning of the end will arrive. Also, if you want to see Annabeth's main outfits, go to my profile. Also, you can see Iris's dress. It's pretty and it's how I always envisioned her. **

**-Blue. **

_**Next time on the Bachelorette: One more man gets voted off, and the silver cloud randomly appearing by Nico will probably be revealed. **_


	10. Chapter 10: Dinner Date, Part One

**MMkay, this shall be told from thy goddess's point of view. Aphrodite. She's deeper then ya think. Actually, SOME of it will be told from her POV. I know this is a sign of a bad fic, chapters with multi POV's, but it was necessary here. **

**Anyway. I want to give a shoutout to Percaabeth lover and Honest Flamer/Philo0sophia. You guys have reviewed the most and given me great ideas and told me what's wrong with this fic so I can make it better. Thank you so **_**so **_**much for that, it means a trillion to me. **

**Note: Guys, people have been PM'ing me saying stuff like, "you're losing readers, update soon!" **

**If you're one of those people who have stopped reading because I haven't updated in a few weeks, then you're not a true fan. I'm sorry, but it's true. **

**Chapter Title: Dinner Date.**

"Aphrodite!" Zeus barged in, and I raised my eyebrow expectantly.

"Yes?"

"Have you been interfering with mortals again?"

I thought of Nico. Of Percy and Annabeth. "Nope."

He narrowed his eyes. "It's bad enough my daughter had to fall in love with that foolish Death child, but now he's beginning to fall in love with her. Did you do something to bring them together?"

'Nope. Well, maybe."

"You know it's against our laws to interfere with mortals when they are living their lives."

I went on the defensive. "Excuse me? Weren't you the one who awakened the brass angels at Hoover Dam during that quest to save Annabeth? Weren't you the one who granted Perceus his any wish after the war? Weren't you the one who let them pass through your domain on the way back from the Underworld? Weren't you the one who allowed Calypso Percy's company? Weren't you the one who-"

"Yes, I was the one. But you know the laws."

"I do. And I also know that I am allowed to use my powers to help them. Nothing ever says that I can't send them gifts. It says that I'm not allowed to help them directly. And I didn't."

"What did you do?"

"I gave Iris a note to give to Nico. Nothing said that was against the laws."

Zeus scowled. "Very well. But if you interfere again I shall have to punish you." With that, he left in a storm cloud. I sat on my throne and began filing my nails.

_That's why we have children, no?_

_**-o-**_

Chris stood before us, watching us squirm and be nervous. Finally, he took the liberty of speaking. "We shall have two more activities before Annabeth chooses her man. You shall have to introduce her to your parents."

I could practically see Nico having a panic attack behind me. When he spoke, I thought for sure he was going to tell him he had no parent. Instead, he went with the more simple; "When?"

"Tomorrow."

I could sense him wondering if he was going to have to pull something off. I knew he would. The question would be _how?_

_**-o-**_

"You must be Annabeth! Oh my goodness, Austin has told us so much about you! He's practically planned your wedding! Our Austin, oh he's just perfect. You know, in eighth grade, he had to get braces. No one would go _near _him until his second year of high school when he got them off! He just got rid of his acne problem a few months ago, and ever since he's been getting calls and friend requests and tweets and, what's that other one honey? Oh, yes. There's this new thing he's been getting a lot of, this thing called _texting._ Have you heard of it? I'm sure you haven't. It's practically brand new!" Austin's mother told me. She was right up in front of me. She looked proud that she knew something 'hip'. I could smell the lime shampoo and her bright pink lipstick that went _way _outside the lip line. Her frizzy white hair looked fake and stiff. Her leopard print dress hung to her knees, and her sixteen inch high heels look like they were bought off a Lady Gaga clothing line.

"Oh, yeah. I've heard of it, Mrs. Caro."

"You have? And please, call me Mae." Mae? Luke... I shoved that thought out of my head and locked it up.

"Um... yeah. I learned about it a few weeks ago." _If you count weeks as years. _

_"_Wonderful! Maybe you could text Austin sometime! If you buy one of those fancy thingamajigs, what are they called Harold? Oh yes. Cell phones. I think Austin has one."

A bell rang. _Saved by the bell. _Austin's mother's eyes lit up. "That must be the vegetarian tofu tuna casserole. Everyone go sit at the table."

We did as she said. I ended up sitting next to Austin and his father. He squinted his eyes at me, examining me. I heard a clang from the kitchen and a vile smell entered the room. Mae burst into the room carrying a white dish that was filled with a bluish green substance. It was bubbling. She placed it on the table smack dab in front of me and cut off a large piece and plunked it in front of me. I felt breakfast coming up when I lifted the first bite to my mouth. The smell rocketed up my nose as I opened my mouth. I could see the cameraman trying to bite back a laugh as I put the awful food into my mouth. I chewed, tried not to puke, and swallowed. When I finished the first bite, I glanced around as everybody was staring at me. They hadn't taken a bite.

"What?"

"We haven't said Grace yet." Harold grumbled. "Rule is, you don't eat 'till you say Grace."

"Oh," I said and put the fork down. "sorry."

"You should be." Mae snapped. I flinched. Figures. I, Annabeth Chase, monster fighter and warrior in the Second Titan War, _flinched _when a boy's mother criticized her.

"Sorry!" I apologized again. "Sorry!"

"Yeah, well. Now you say Grace." Harold said gruffly. I nodded, desperately trying to remember a prayer about thankfulness from the two days I had gone to church when I was fifteen, in case _this _kind of situation occurred.

"Um... God is good, God is great. Let us... thank him for our food?" I said cautiously. Which god did mortals believe in? Then I remembered to say, "Amen."

"Wonderful! Now dig in!" Mae said, instantly returning to her old self. Within minutes all of them had finished their casserole. I was about a quarter of the way through with it. I picked up the pace, and by the time they were done with their third piece, I was finally done with my first.

"Yum!" I said weakly. I clutched my stomach under the table. "That was great Mae."

"I know." She said proudly. "It's my specialty. My best dish."

"I can see why."

The cameraman, his name is Caleb, signaled for me to wrap it up. I did. "Well, I have to go now. Austin, it was wonderful meeting your parents. Their great. I'll see you Wednesday."

He nodded his farewell and we hugged goodbye. Finally, I was in the open air of Oklahoma walking on cracked pavement and breathing in late December air. I pulled my winter coat around me and turned to the cameraman. "That went well."

He raised his eyebrow. "Really?"

"What do you think? I feel like I'm gonna throw up."

"You looked like you were being tortured. You're not exactly the best actress, unless you were trying to fake torture-ism."

"That bad?"

"Worse."

"Dammit."

"Well, there's the car." He said, pointing to a limo waiting at the end of the block. "We better hurry."

So we did. We ran through the wet snow to the limousine. I stepped inside and practically melted when I realized how hot it was. I could see the cameraman sweating all the way to the airport, where I would exit to meet Nico's parents.

This oughta be interesting.

**-o-**

I stepped out of the yellow cab and paid the cabbie. I walked through up the long, winding walkway up to a large front door. _This _was where Nico lived? It was a mansion of sorts. The two hour plane ride to Colorado was cramped and too hot. It was a relief to step outside and into the freezing cold, snow covered ground of Colorado. We entered another scorching taxi and minutes ago arrived here. Now, I knocked on the door and a women answered. She was wearing sunglasses and her hair was pulled into a tight ponytail. She was wearing worn jeans with a hole in one knee and a loose T-shirt.

"Hi, I'm Annabeth."

"Welcome! We've been expecting you!" She led me and the cameraman in, plopped me down in a chair next to Nico, who looked like he was stripped of his last bit of dignity, which left me to wonder; who was this women pretending to be Nico's mother?

Ten minutes later of brute silence, the woman came through two mahogany double doors carrying a two plates and five bowls. She placed the two plates and two of the bowls in the center of the table, and distributed the rest of the bowls between us. They were filled with a thick yellow chowder type thing, and it smelled delicious. I looked at the larger of the plates and saw a perfectly cooked turkey. The smaller of the plates held a mountain of mashed potatoes. I saw Nico serving himself to a turkey leg, so I did the same. I plopped a pile of mashed potatoes on top and tucked in. It was delicious. Heavenly. only a god could have made it this good.

Wait.

_Only a god._

Holy... erm... cow. Nico's mother was a goddess!

I looked at his 'mother' and she lowered her sunglasses enough so I could see her eyes. They were piercing gray.

_Nico's mother was Athena!_

I was eating dinner with my mother, who was pretending to be Nico's mother. Could this get any weirder? I nearly spat out my dinner, but that would've been suspicious and I didn't feel like explaining anything. I took a deep breath and tried to contain my spaz attack. Nico sensed something was wrong, and he glanced nervously at me. I stared him in the eye and mouthed, _Athena?_

He nodded sheepishly. He was sort-of beginning to remind me of the little kid I had first met all those years ago. I looked back at the goddess.

"This is delicious."

"Thank you Annabeth." Which further more proves that it was my mother, since I never told her my name. I heard a click. Then a beep. Nico's 'mother's' eyes widened. "Um, I think you should get going."

"What? Why?"

"Just get out of my house!" Athena snapped. Something was wrong, I knew it. I couldn't figure it out, but me and the cameraman were shoved out of the house.

"Well," I said. "that was interesting."

"Indeed it was."

I sighed. "Well, it's nine o' clock. We better check into the motel."

He agreed. We were stuffed into yet _another _stuffy cab and about an hour later we pulled up to a building. The walls had paint chipping off them, the_ O, S, _and _E _in Sandy Hook Motel was out.

"Is this where we're staying?" I asked nervously. Caleb nodded, and he opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted was a loud smash.

"Get _out!" _A woman screamed, chucking a pack of beers at a man who stumbled who was obviously drunk, _right into the car. _The woman screamed wordlessly and disappeared for a moment into the motel. When she came back out, she was lugging a paper bag. She threw it at the man, who just barely managed to dodge it. He drunkenly swung hit fist, missing the woman by a mile, and it ended up hitting the window. He cheek smashed up against the window as he tried to push the cab out of the way. The cabbie locked the door and pulled into a different parking spot, much farther from the entrance.

"Get out." The cabbie grumbled, reluctantly unlocking the doors.

"What? Can't we-"

"No. Get out."

Grudgingly, I opened the door and grabbed my bag. Caleb followed suit and we entered the hotel. I immediately started to cough, and I could barely see. The place was clouded with smoke, and I could see several faint orange dots floating in the air. Caleb led me toward the desk, squinting his eyes and ringing the bell.

"Hello? _Hello!" _

"Hold yer horses, I'm gettin' there. I'm comin'." A gruff voice grumbled. "Whaddya want?"

"We have reservations...?"

"Yeah. The couple thas' had reservations in four years."

"I can see why." I muttered. The man glared at me but didn't sat anything. He just took out a brass key and handed it to Caleb. "Here. Now, you and your _girlfriend _better keep it down up there."

"What? No no no, she's not my girlfriend." Caleb stuttered. "I'm her-"

"I don't _care. _Look, I have a wife and a kid. D'you think I want to be here? No. I'd rather be home helping Suzanne with Emma-Lee. But no. I'm stuck here, bringing into 16.50 an hour. Now, be nice and polite and go up to the room, and do whatever you want to do. But do it _quietly. _I do not wish to have a repeat of yesterday." He leaned against the wall behind him, glaring.

"Um, okay." I said. "Come on, Caleb. Lets go."

We darted down the hallway and entered our room. It was just a smokey as the lobby, mixed with the smell of rotten eggs and dirty socks. I groaned in harmony with Caleb.

"Can we just get to sleep?"

Then, I realized with a start the most horrible part of the room.

There was only one bed.

**-o-**

So. A smokey hotel room, a seedy hotel, one bed and two people. What would _you _do?

_Don't _do what we did: nothing.

We couldn't do anything. The hotel manager refused to let us have another room. He didn't let us have another bed. He couldn't sleep in a car, because we did not have one.

"Do you want me to have the floor...?" Caleb asked for the fiftieth time.

"No. I swear I saw a rat run on that floor, and I'd rather not have my cameraman get infected with rabies or something."

"Well then what are we going to do?"

"I have no idea." My phone vibrated on the table and I picked it up. _One new message. _It read.

I opened it, and saw it was from an unfamiliar number. I look at the message. _Athena _always _has a plan. _

Just at that moment, someone knocked on the door. Caleb went over and opened it, and a perky blonde came waltzing in sophisticatedly. "Heeelllo!"

"Huh?" Caleb asked. The blonde's intelligent grey eyes lit up when they landed on me.

"Annabeth, sweetie!" She said and air kissed me. "Ugh, Aphrodite told me you were here. You simply cannot stay here! You must come with me?"

I hugged her, never to have been so grateful to see my mother. "Mom?"

"What?"

"This is your mother?" Caleb asked. "She looks a bit... young."

Athena smiled. "Thank you! I don't hear that much."

"Trust me, Caleb." I said. "She's older then you think."

**It's been a while. **

**Okay, I have no reason to why I haven't updated. I just didn't get around to it. Anyway, yes. Athena pretended to be Nico's mother, and then saved Annabeth from sleeping in that seedy motel. Caleb on the other hand... **

**Anyway, Percy gets an entire chapter to himself and his dinner with Annabeth! **

**Two more chapters until Annabeth makes her choice! **


	11. Chapter 11: A Christmas Miracle

**Hrm. Well. I dedicate this chapter to all those lost in 9/11/01. I, thankfully, did not know anybody who died or was injured. **

**Did you notice that 9/11 is ironically, the phone number we call in an emergency? 911.**

**Oh, and thanks **AnnabethHasItInForHer, **For being the 200TH REVIEWER!**

**THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU **_**ALL! **_**For letting me know my writing doesn't completely stink and I'm talking to no one. :) **

**Disclaimer: Sigh, I can't believe I have to say this AGAIN. Whatever. Nope. I refuse to do this. I do not want to. I refuse. **

**Chapter title: Dinner date: Part two. **

The next morning, after I thanked my mother for letting me stay at her 'house', I went downstairs, brushing my hair, my bag slung over my shoulder, trying to put another shoe on and brushing my teeth.

At the same time.

It was hard, almost impossible, I had to stop, put the shoe on, brush a tooth, and brush my hair, then continue my trample down the stairs. I entered the kitchen to see Caleb making breakfast (which Athena could've done in a few seconds), and my mother watching him with obvious distaste. She didn't like how I insisted him stay here, and she _especially _didn't like how he was now cooking breakfast.

"Caleb!" I said, staring at my mother with pleading eyes that I hoped said, _please don't incinerate him to dust! _But ended up probably saying, _Don't incinerate _me!

"Yeah?" He said, turning around.

"Would you mind if Ath-I mean my mom took over breakfast? It's kind of her thing."

"Oh. Okay." He said a bit too cheerily. He handed Athena the spatula. "Here."

"Thank you, Caleb." Athena said, her voice icy.

I swear, his pancakes were a bit burnt and kind of purple when we had breakfast that morning.

**-o-**

Now, I _hate _flying. It's the most horrible thing in the world. All the turbulence, plus the risk of falling out of the sky. I mean, it's a flying metal box. How the _hell _do they get it off the ground?

Don't answer that.

Anyway, the point is, Flying sucks. Give me a cruise, (with Percy), give me shadow travel, (With Nico), or even a car. Anything but flying. But of course we had to be at Percy's house by six o' clock for dinner. So no other choice but flight.

Of course.

So there I was, gripping the armrest so hard my knuckles were turning white, clenching my teeth, and trying to tell the flight attendant that I don't want a freaking beverage.

"Are you sure? We have Dr. Pepper, Sprite, Fresca, Coca-Cola, Diet coke-"

"I know what you have! I don't want anything!" I hissed. My eyes were shut tight, and I swear my fingers were leaving indents on the plastic.

"Not even a selection of our alcoholic beverages, such as a Margaritas, Martinis, beer-"

"Shut _up!" _I growled. I had had enough. I was sick of being swooned over by all the men in the plane. I was sick of being stared at by all the girls, obviously wishing I knew them. I was sick and tired of all of this. I just wanted to be a normal girl. Well, as normal as a demigod could get. Why couldn't I have refused Chris's offer? Why do I need to fall in love? Why couldn't I have stayed single?

Because the Fate's are cruel, that's why. "Just go away. Go away now. I don't want any _freaking _drinks. I don't want one of you're _freaking _snacks, and I certainly don't want you around me. Just go away. Go away, go away. _Go away!_" Yeah, I was having a hissy fit like I was a two year old. But at the time, I didn't care. I just wanted to be alone. I needed silence, I needed solace. And I needed it _now. _I stood up, despite the warnings of the flight attendant and the sign that said, _Please remain seated_. I straightened my shirt. "I am going to the bathroom."

When I got in, I put the seat down and sat. I put my head in my hands and cried.

For the first time since after Percy and I broke up, I cried. My mascara ran down my face, tears streaked my face, my eyes turned puffy and red, and I cried.

I cried with nine years of hate, anger, love, and built up emotion, and it came out like a river.

When I was done, I washed my face as best I could with wipes and semi-wet toilet paper. I emerged from the bathroom and took my seat once more.

The flight attendant was gone.

**-o-**

"Are you okay?" Caleb asked. Despite my efforts my eyes were still tomato red and as puffy as a cloud.

"No." I answered, and thankfully, that was the only answer he needed.

**-o-**

Finally, _finally_, we landed. It took ages, but when we touched down in Newark, I was the first one off that flight. I booked it towards the bathrooms, where Caleb met up with me a few minutes later.

"Annabeth!" He called.

"Yeah?"

"You got out of there so fast I thought I lost you."

"Yeah. Do you have the dress?"

"Uh... yeah. Here," He handed me a large dry cleaning bag and a medium sized box. "Makeup in the box, dress in the bag."

"Gotcha. I'll be back." I said, lugging the bag and box into the bathroom. I took the handicap stall, hung up the bag on the hanger, and unzipped it.

My eyes widened. It was a bright orange shirt and washed out bootcut jeans. _Bright orange shirt... _

I smirked. I pulled on the jeans and exited the stall. I opened the box and got to work on my makeup. I hoped that Gigi and the girls would approve. I brushed on some gray eyeshadow, some lipgloss, and some eyeliner. I didn't put a large amount on, I hate makeup. I prefer not to pollute my skin with colorful lines. Although, I admit, sometimes it's kind of fun. I took the black nail polish and _extremely_ carefully I wrote thirteen letters. When it was dry, I went back into the stall and changed shirts. I put my old clothes in the bag and put the makeup away. I put my jacket over the shirt and left the bathroom. I handed the bags to Caleb, who draped them over his shoulder and put the box in a small pocket in his backpack. We left the airport, hailed a cab, and relaxed. I stared out the window, blankly staring at the snow covered scenery.

"That'll be thirty two fifty six."

I turned toward the driver. "What?"

"Thirty two dollars and fifty six cents."

"Oh." I dug around in my bag and brought up a fifty dollar bill. I handed it to the driver.

"Here's 'yer change."

"Thanks. Bye." I said. I exited the cab. I looked up at the tall brownstone apartment. I hadn't seen the place in nine years. I brushed a lock of hair out of my face and took a breath. "Here we go," I mumbled to Caleb. "Again."

**-o-**

"Annabeth!" A very pregnant Sally Jackson opened the door. She wrapped her arms around me. "How nice to see you! And on Christmas Eve, no less."

"Mrs. Jackson!" I said. My voice sounded fake. "You're... expecting?"

She broke into a wide grin. "Yes. Isn't it great?"

"Do you know if what it's going to be?"

"No. We want it to be a surprise."

"That's great!" I said, smiling. "Since when, though?"

"Since about eight and a half months ago."

"Shouldn't you-

"No. Sit, sit." She said, beckoning to the table. Percy was sitting, fiddling a flower. He handed it to me.

"What's this?" I teased. "Is Percy Jackson actually being _romantic?" _

"Shut up." He said, but I could hear the smile in his voice. A bell _dinged_.

"Oh, that's dinner! I hope you guys like blue noodles!" Sally grinned. She got up, but Paul got up and grabbed her arm.

"I'll do it."

She waved him off. "I'm pregnant. Not immobile. I can do it."

"What if you fall?"

"I've been walking for a long time, Paul. I think I can walk the two yards to the oven."

He sighed, but let go of her arm.

_Blue noo... what? _But sure enough, Sally placed a pan full of blue lasagna on the table with garlic bread, (Normal color.), and stuffing, (Also normal color.). The smell practically knocked me off my feet. It smelled a thousand times better then Athena's food, which is saying something. The fumes wafted up to my nose, daunting and teasing me. _Take me. You know you want to. Please. _

Sally smiled, and I was trying my best not to drool on her lasagna. "Can we uh..." I licked my lips. "Eat?"

"Of course! Dig in."

That was it. No prayer, no polite discussion. I picked up my fork and practically stabbed the pasta. I shoved a piece that was way too big into my mouth, all too aware of the camera's little red dot in my peripheral vision. But truthfully, I didn't care. Because this was Percy and Percy was... well... Percy.

"Oh!" Sally smiled. Her blue-green eyes sparkled gleefully. "She's kicking."

"She?" I asked, just as Percy said, "What if it's a boy?"

Sally rolled her eyes. "She's my baby and until we know for sure, I am calling her 'She.' Because 'She' has 'He' in it, so it's only fair."

"Can I feel it?" I blurted it out. Percy's mother nodded, and I pushed back my chair, which made a terrible screech against the tile floor. Nobody seemed to mind, except for Caleb, who winced and used one hand to rub his ear. I made my way through the cramped and tiny kitchen and knelt next to Sally's chair. "What do I do?" I asked.

"Don't be shy, Annabeth. She won't feel it. It's not going to hurt her." She took my hand and placed it on her stomach, where I felt a small kick on my hand. For the first time in _months, _a real smile broke out on my face.

"She's kicking." I whispered.

"Yeah," Sally said, her voice almost cracking with joy. "The miracle of life."

**-o-**

"So. When is your mom due?" I asked Percy after dinner, when we were both alone up in his room.

He shrugged. "I think about two weeks after Christmas. Why?"

"It's so... _weird. _I mean, you're twenty-six-"

"Twenty-five."

"Twenty-five, and this baby is going to be so little, a day old! It's gonna be twenty-five when you're fifty. It's like... a less intense version of the Bella and Edward love story."

He raised his eyebrows. "You're a fan of Edweird Sullen and Belly Spawn?"

"_Bella Swan _and _Edward Cullen." _

"Whatever. Stop changing the subject. Are you?"

"I read the books," I defended. He looked pointedly at me. I rolled my eyes. "And saw the movie..."

"Twihard!" He accused me.

"No! And how would you know what that _was?" _He blushed. My eyes widened. "_Twihard!" _

"No!"

"Yes!

"No!

"Yes!"

"Yes!"

"Yes!"

"_Damn!" _Percy shouted. "How come that always works in movies?"

"Because their _movies...?" _

"Still."

"Percy, back on the subject. Isn't it just the _slightest _bit creepy?"

"Yeah... it _is _a little creepy I guess." He agreed. "But it's a _baby. _It's _cute. _It's _delicate." _

"True. What do _you _want to name it?"

"It's not my decision."

"That's a pretty long name."

He rolled his eyes. "Very funny. If it were up to me, I would want to name it Madeline, if it were a girl, or Danny or Nick if it were a boy."

"Those are good names!"

"I guess."

"Why are you so down?" I asked.

"I'm just tired. My mom wants us to be 'prepared' when the baby comes, so she sets our alarms for two in the morning. She makes us let them ring for an hour, and if we turn them off then she'll dump a bucket of cold water on our heads."

"Tell her you should try to save electricity and not pollute the Earth."

"I've tried _everything, _Annabeth. It's getting to the point where-"

"_PERCY!" _Paul shouted. Percy and I jumped. I had never heard Paul shout before, and I'm pretty sure Percy hadn't either.

"What?" Percy called back.

"Come down here!"

"What did you _do?" _I hissed. He shrugged, but got up and exited to room. I was hot on his heels. When we arrived downstairs, I saw a panting Sally and a panicked Paul.

"What's wrong?"

"Me and Sally have to go."

"Sally and I," I corrected him. Everybody stared at me, and I blushed. "Sorry. Force of habit."

"Go where?" Percy asked his step-father. "What's wrong with Mom?"

"I'm in labor, sweetie." Sally said between breaths. Percy's eyes popped.

"Well, I'm not staying here!" He said. "I'm coming with you!"

"No, you have to stay with Annabeth."

"I don't mind coming." I said sheepishly. "Really, I don't."

Sally looked pained and her hand floated up to her stomach. "I don't know..."

"Mom, I'm not a kid. I'm coming with you."

"All right," She agreed. "Now Paul, come on. I can't wait a second longer. Did you call the- _Arhghg!" _

"Yes," Paul answered, knowing what she was going to ask. "They said an ambulance is on it's way."

"Okay." She took another few breaths. "Oh gods, this hurts."

Percy turned towards me and waggled his eyebrows before turning back to his mother. "Mom-"

The phone rang. It shrieked through the house obnoxiously, causing extreme silence except for Sally's ragged breathing and the sharp tone. "Can you get that?" Paul asked me. I nodded and headed to the source of the ringing.

"Hello?"

"Yes, you called previously about a woman in labor."

"Yeah...?"

"I am extremely sorry, but we are unable to make our way to you in this weather. It is physically impossible, and if we had any other way to get to you we would."

"What do you mean, the weather?" I asked.

"Have you been outside? The snow is at lease four feet deep! The streets are blocked off! We can't get to you, I'm extremely sorry. If you hold I can get a nurse who can walk you through home-birth-"

I dropped the phone, which clattered to the ground leaving nothing but a dial tone.

"What did they say?" Sally asked between contractions.

"We have to drive you to the hospital. The snow is four feet deep."

"_Damn," _Paul cursed, which shocked me more then him yelling. "Well, Percy. I hope you can drive well."

"_I have to drive you to the hospital?" _Percy gasped. Paul nodded.

"Yeah. Lets go."

**-o-**

After a lot of screaming, pushing, and tears, me and Percy finally got to see his new sibling. He now had a beautiful baby sister.

"What should her name be?" Paul whispered when we walked in. Sally was sound asleep on the fluffy hospital bed.

"You're asking me?"

"Well, yes." He said. "She _is _your sister."

"What about... Madeline?"

"That's good. Annabeth? What do you think?"

My jaw dropped. "You're asking _me?" _

Paul nodded.

I peered at the small infant. "She looks like Kelsey."

"Kelsey Madeline? I like that."

"Mmm...?" Sally stirred. She opened her eyes, which were now a light brown. As soon as she was fully conscious, she stretched her hands toward Paul like a small child. "Give her to me."

He obeyed, gently placing the child in her arms. "We were discussing names while you were asleep."

"What'd you come up with?"

"Well, Percy has Madeline-"

"I like that."

"And Annabeth has Kelsey."

"I _like _that."

"So we came up with Kelsey Madeline."

"I _love _that." She said. She shifted the baby. "Is that your name? Kelsey Madeline?"

As if in answer, the baby yawned, which turned into a a soft smile, before her eyes closed and she nuzzled closer to her chest.

"Yes. That's her name." Sally said officially. "Paul, do you like it?"

"I do."

"Good." She placed a light kiss on her baby's forehead. "Kelsey Madeline... Hi Kelsey."

"A Christmas miracle."

**-o-**

"Annabeth, pick your man." The rose burned like fire in my hand, and I couldn't bear to hold it any longer. It was four days since the birth of Percy's sister, and it was the news on all the magazines. Chris Harrison's voice rang in my ears, slinking through my body and freezing everything it touched. I coudn't move, let alone speak. "Annabeth..."

It rang in my head, and I forced myself to lift my head up. I met Percy's eyes, then Nico. I could feel Thalia's breath on my neck, her invisible hand clenched around mine.

The petals on the rose seemed to morph in my eyes, turning into a picture of me and Percy, then me and Nico.

"Pick him," Thalia breathed in my ear. I nodded.

"Right. _Right." _I felt like I couldn't breathe. I felt as if a pillow was suffocating me.

"Nico," I choked out. "Will you accept this rose?"

**Wow. That was emotionally draining. Anyway, no. This is not the end. Nico and Annabeth have to still get married. This is not the end. I promise. Thank you for reading this chapter, I know it took a while. :D**

**But thanks for sticking with me. Again, this is NOT THE END. :D**

**Disclaimer: Sorry. I don't own anything. :(**

**Now review. Or I won't update.**

**Naw, Just kidding. Of course I'll update. But seriously, REVIEW!**


	12. Chapter 12: Silent Scream

_**The song that inspired me to write this chapter was the first few seconds of Finally Falling, sung by Victoria Justice. I love that song, but the first few seconds gave me the inspiration. **_

_**Anyway. I see a lot of you wanted Percy to win. I don't know if you will be totally thrilled with this chapter, because it seems like I just came up with it to make you happy **__**WHICH I DID NOT**__** but I know that I am totally thrilled with how this has ended up. **_

_**I loved your reactions, but I think, IF YOU STUCK WITH THIS, then you will be happy. **_

_**P.S. I think we can reach 300 reviews. 300th reviewer might get a preview of the sequel! I accept double reviews, but no more then that. Anonymous reviews are welcome too, but you should tell me your username so I can reply to you. **_

_**:D**_

_**-Blue. **_

_Tears filled my eyes as I practically threw the rose at Nico, who was too stunned to speak, and darted out of the room. I ignored Thalia's abrupt gasp, sprinting to the room, locking myself in and locking the door. I sobbed on the bed, wondering if this was supposed to be happy. It didn't make any sense, but the tears kept coming and I kept crying. _

_I heard a knock on the door, and I threw a ridiculous high-heeled shoe at it. _

_"Hello?" _

_It wasn't a voice I recognized, but it came with a soft power. "What?" I snapped. _

_"Open up." _

_"Who is it?" _

_"I can't say." _

_"Then I'm not opening."_

_"Fine." There was a pause, then she added, "But shield your eyes." _

_I did so, blocking my eyes with my arm and doing a face-plant on the soft comforter. "You may look." _

_I lifted my head up and blinked, the excess tears sliding down my face and making my vision blurry. I saw a girl with wavy blonde hair and a petite face walk in. She was wearing a white blouse and a blue silk skirt that fell like a waterfall past her ankles, spilling onto the floor like a spreading spill. Her eyes were golden and perfectly round, with flecks of black sprinkled in them. She looked like a goddess, which was stupid because she was one. _

_"Aphrodite?" _

_She sighed. "Why does everybody always assume that just because I am pretty means that I am Aphrodite? It gets quite frustrating." _

_"Well then, who are you?" _

_Her eyes flared, then faltered into pity. "Since you have not had a good day, I will forgive your rudeness. I am Artemis, goddess of the moon and the Hunt." _

_"Sorry, Lady Artemis." _

_"Apology accepted. Now, Annabeth, you may not have may the best choice tonight. I am defying the very laws of the gods, by visiting. I have already done so with Nico-"_

_"You visited Nico?" I squeaked. "Great. Just stupendous." _

_"_I _have not visited him. That would be much too awkward. And I cannot break the rules that often, Annabeth. I summoned Bianca from Hades to whisper advice to him."_

_"So that's the silver shadow that's been haunting him..."_

_"Indeed. Annabeth, I am here to make you feel better. I am giving you one last chance-"_

_"I don't want to join the Hunt."_

_"You are one of the few at this age who-"_

_"No." _

_"Fine. I thought I'd thought I'd offer. But Annabeth-"_

"What?"

_"I promise you'll be happy in the end. Avert your eyes." _

**-o-**

The velvet seat was soft against my hand as I ran it back and forth. Light, dark. Light, dark. The long white dress flowed around my ankles like a pale waterfall. Beautiful, yes, but not the one I would have picked out. _Everything _was chosen for me here. From the food I ate to the clothes I wore.

"You ready?" Dial, my designer asked in her distinct Southern accent. I had no bridesmaid, for Thalia was still furious at me and I hadn't spoken to any of my girl friends in over eight years. Tears threatened to spill, but I refused to cry. I brushed them away with the back of my hand and nodded.

"I think so."

**-o-**

Do you, Annabeth Michelle Chase, take Nico Bartholomew Di Angelo, to be your friend, your lover, the father of your children and your wife?

_Bartholomew? _"I do," I whispered.

The priest continued. "Nico, do you?"

His black eyes flickered toward me for a second, but I didn't meet them. He focused on the priest again. "I do."

"Do you swear to be each other's in times of plenty and in times of want, in times of sickness and in times of health, in times of joy and in times of sorrow, in times of failure and in times of triumph?"

At the same time, we chorused, "I do."

Finally, he spoke the last line. "Do promise to cherish and respect each other, to care and protect you, to comfort and encourage you, and stay with you, for all eternity?"

I froze. Vaguely, I heard Nico say the dreaded words. But all too clearly I could see Percy's red-rimmed eyes, half-hidden and shadowed by his black bangs. I could see the bicycle decorations we put in the wheels of Chiron's wheelchair about nine years ago and never bothered to remove. I could sharply see ten olympian gods in disguise, their glowing aura hardly contained. I saw my mother's shocking gray eyes, Zeus's curly gray hair, Aphrodite's glowing aura, Artemis's forced smile, and Apollo's glowing eyes. I turned towards the priest.

"I..."

The audience seemed to lean forward. The chorus stopped singing. The pianist and harpist stopped playing. Five hundred and eighty six people held their breaths, waiting for me to speak.

"I don't." I whispered. "I don't!"

A smile spread across my face, from a small smirk to an ear-to-ear grin. "I don't! I _don't! _I don't accept it!"

I grabbed Nico's shoulders and planted a kiss on his lips. Before I pulled away, I whispered into his ear, "Go get Thalia."

I let him go, laughing manically, the grin almost hurting. But I didn't care. I was free. I wasn't getting married, at least not to Nico. I hopped of the stage, strands of hair getting in my face but I _didn't care. _I grabbed Percy's hand and pulled him up into a hug. Reluctantly, Percy pulled away.

"What...?"

"It's always been _you, _Seaweed Brain." My voice cracked with happiness. "Whether you knew it or not."

**-o-**

"Let's try this again, shall we?" The priest said. He tried to sound annoyed, but I could hear the smile in his voice. "Do you, Annabeth Michelle Chase, take Perseus Orion Jackson," (Here Percy blushed, hating the fact of that his middle name was that of a Hunter), "to be your lawfully wedded life, in the eyes of the Christian Church and Jesus Christ, our Lord?"

"Forever and always."

The priest raised his eyebrow.

"Oh, sorry. I do."

The priest let his smile show. "In the name of the father, son, and the holy spirit."

"Amen."

"You may kiss the bride."

And kiss we did.

**-o-**

Later, at the party, as me and Nico were dancing, he slipped something into my hand.

"What's this?" I asked, and Nico shrugged.

"Read it."

_Nico, _

_Sometimes the heart wants confusing things. Sometimes it wants to be with someone forever, other times it loses interest after a bit. _

_Sometimes a heart cannot keep up the love for a person it's entire life. It wants to, but it simply can't. Like yours. You desperately want to love somebody forever and always, but you can't. It's simply not your nature. _

_Other times, a heart can do nothing but love. It, of course, can pump the blood and keep the person alive, but as well the only reason it does that is to let the person continue on loving. Example A: Percy Jackson. His heart loves. He loves. Everyone he becomes close to he loves. And once you fall in love, you do everything in your power to keep the one you love alive. Have you noticed you haven't? You don't do that, because if they die, you can visit them. _

_Nico, I have seen very few with your type of love. When you do indeed find someone you are able to love for eternity, that love burns so fiercely that it could destroy anything that gets in it's way. _

_You have two people you love like that. One of them is Bianca. You know the other. _

_In the end, you will end up with the one you love. The one that has let your heart keep your ability to love. _

_Use love wisely, Nico. It can be the gentlest touch or the deadliest weapon. It is _not _something you play around with. _

_Love, _

_Aphrodite. _

I looked up, confused. Partly from the letter, and partly from how I was able to read that.

"What?"

"That letter appeared in my room at the mansion. It was on my pillow and I read it... I knew."

"That it wasn't me."

He nodded glumly. "Yeah."

I was silent. "So why did you say, 'I do'?"

"Because I knew _you _wouldn't."

There was silence, nothing but the sound of _Viva La Vida _blasting through two foot tall speakers.

"You should go talk to Thalia," I shouted, motioning toward her, from lack of nothing better to say. "She's by the wine."

Indeed she was, staring longingly at the drink, probably wishing she could drink some. Her pale skin stuck out among the tanned bodies, and even from fifty feet away I could see the happy-sad sparkle in her brilliant blue eyes.

I turned to Nico, who was staring in my eyes. I blinked, confused. "What?"

Then he hugged me. He wrapped his arms around me and hugged me. He lifted me a foot off the ground, which was _way _out of character. "Hey! Let me down!"

He did, but he grabbed my shoulders. "Thank you _so _much, Annabeth."

I blushed. "Don't thank me."

"Thanks anyway," He said, before making his way to the girl. He whispered something in her ear, and her grin could've lit up New York, it was so bright. He picked her up and kissed her.

"They're a good couple." I turned around. A faint, ever so faint mist shone barely visible in the swirling lights. His blond hair was longer, and his eyes were duller, but it was definitely _him._

"Luke?" I gasped. My voice cracked. He smiled.

"Yeah."

"What are you-"

"You can get away with certain things if you live in Elysium."

"I thought you went for Isle of the Blest?"

He shrugged, and his form flickered briefly. He winced. "I did. I got it, too. But I like this body best."

"So soon?" I whispered. After the war, I hadn't done much, demi-god wise. "But it's only been nine years!"

"Nine years, four as a cancer patient, one as a kid who died in a car crash."

"You died so young in all..."

"Yeah. Lets not talk about it." He changed the subject. "Look at you. You're older then me."

"I shouldn't have been."

"Shut up. Of course you should. You deserve to be alive way more than me."

I shrugged. "So why are you here?"

"What, I'm not allowed to visit one of my best friends?"

"Not without a reason."

He sighed. "Annabeth, there's something going on in the Underworld."

I froze. "What?"

He winced, as if it almost hurt for him to continue. "People are rising from the Fields of Asphodel. Uncontrollably. Hades can't stop them, someone is telling them to do it."

"Like who?"

I never did find out who, because with a hacking cough, Luke disappeared. I heard a loud scream, and saw two _massive, _black furred, dripping fanged, thirty feet tall monsters standing on their hind paws, searching around the crowd. One of the monster's beady eyes landed on me, and started to gallop near. With a swift movement, it picked me up and and swept me out. I screamed, kicked and clawed. It was my _wedding _day! This wasn't supposed to happen!

For a brief moment, my eyes locked with Percy's. His green orbs were terrified but determined as the monster carried me out, and I knew he _would _find me, just like when I had to hold the sky.

The monster's paws clenched tighter around me as we exited into the open air. The other monster was close behind it, clutching two people.

"Annabeth?" A voice called.

_No. No no no. No. __**No. **_

"Thalia?" I whispered, not wanting to believe it.

"Where are we _going?" _

Thalia's voice was lost in the wind as the monsters spread their wings. Huge, leathery bat wings that had a span of fifteen feet. I gulped and tried not to be afraid, but how can you not be afraid when you're already a mile above the earth, and the only daughter of Zeus is right beside you, unconscious and held captive?

For a while, it was pretty peaceful. Nothing but the rushing of cool air through my hair and face. Then I realized we were still rising. The air was getting harder to breathe, and I began to feel light headed. I fought for breath, begging any god that would listen to not let me die.

And then we were hurtling through space, no gravity, no sound. My scream was silent, lost forever in the span of space.

I saw Thalia waking up, her eyes wide as she surveyed around us. There was no ceiling, no walls, no floor. It was amazing, but terrifying. We weren't supposed to be able to be here!

I saw the monsters making symmetrical movements with their hands, and all of a sudden an excruciatingly bright light appeared a bit in front of us. We neared it, the heat growing until it was unbearable. We entered the brightness, unmistakably going to die. I was hardly married and_ I was going to die. _

I closed my eyes.

_**Fin.**_

_**A/N: Hm. I don't know what to think of this, but I kind of had to leave you on a cliff hanger in order to get you to read the sequel, huh? **_

_**ANYWAY, if action isn't your thing, then you are missing out. Immensely. But can you please review for the sequel? **_

_**A/N AGAIN: Okay. Now for the sappy part. I really, truly, love every single one of you who read and/or reviewed this. Having almost 300 reviews, this fanfic has truly made my day. Er, weeks. It has been my hobby, my heart and soul, and... well... analogy time. **_

_**You know when your ABSOLUTE FAVORITE SHOW OF ALL TIME x 100000000's season is over? Well, that's what it feels like now I'm finished. I feel like a little piece inside me has died. And now, because, if you are reading this a few months into the future when I'm hard at work at the sequel, I want you to know. **_

_**As of, 10/31/10, I have 270 reviews, 17,950 hits, 97 favorites, and 125 alerts. **_

_**I want to thank you. **_

_**So, now, as I go do math homework or finish the Lost Hero or work on the sequel, I want you to know I would never have made it this far without you. **_

_**So thanks. A ton. For your support and everything. **_

_**I guess there is only one thing to say. **_

_**Blue Truth is signing off. **_

_**For now.**_

_**Finally, I am sad and happy to say...**_

_**This fanfiction, is now complete. **_


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